


The Sand Prince

by swiftstar85



Series: Swiftstar's Naruto [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Mild Language, Multi, Team as Family, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-19
Packaged: 2018-03-01 02:10:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 40
Words: 242,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2755649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftstar85/pseuds/swiftstar85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Gaara hadn't been brought up in the Desert, even though it was his home country?What if the beginnings of the Akatsuki had attacked The Hidden Village in The Sand to try and get him when he was a baby? What if he was sent to Konoha as a baby to be safe from the Akatsuki Organization? This is Gaara's what if story and his life growing up as a Leaf Shinobi with Naruto Uzumaki as his best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters, though I wouldn't mind if I did.
> 
> Influenced by The Prince of Egypt and Lion King

Sunagakure; it was always seen as a harsh place because of the long hot days and the raging sandstorms by other countries. It was seen as a place that foreigners would never go to because of the harsh climates, plus the Sand people didn't like strangers very much. They would treat tourists with respect, of course, but sometimes they just spooked the visitors off. It was true that the people of Suna weren't the friendliest of people.

But then again, there were exceptions.

The women there were some of the most beautiful people in the lands, and were the loveliest belly dancers and singers. That was mostly why anyone visited Suna. There were many days where the visitors saw the true beauty of the Country of Wind. The sunsets were exquisite, and the music was so mystifying that it felt like the visitors were being put into a trance. Suna was a very seductive and enchanting world.

But even it had its troubles.

Near the desert mountains, there was a terrible organization called the Akatsuki, who had caused a lot of trouble for Suna several times. They were a gang of ninja bandits, always attacking people or trying to take what did not belong to them. And numerous times they had approached the great Kazekage, demanding that they would hand over the spirit of the Sand Demon, Shukaku. And during those numerous times, the Kazekage refused, saying that the spirit of the Sand Demon must not be touched by such wicked hands. He had fought them off several times with his Sand ninja.

They were only lucky that the Akatsuki wouldn't put up much of a fight.

Truth be told, the Kazekage had no idea where the spirit of Shukaku was. It was like the sand filled winds, blowing place to place, causing enormous sandstorms when it was angry. It was almost as troublesome as the Akatsuki, maybe even more. It was a danger to the people of Suna.

But after years of trouble, the Sand Shinobi Elders had finally found the spirit and decided to lock it up inside a living organism, just so that a lesson could be learned. Unfortunately, they had no control of what living organism it would be placed in. For it was Shukaku's choice of what it would live in, even if it didn't actually have a choice but to be locked up.

As a symbol of revenge, Shukaku chose the body of the new born baby of the Kazekage.

The Kazekage had been furious that it chose his son, but it could not be helped. For to extract the demon now, it would cost the life of his newborn son. And that was not something that the Kazekage would dare to try. He had two other children, of course. And he loved them dearly. Maybe a little more than his now "demonic" son, but he still cared for the boy.

But due to the demon, the baby couldn't sleep very much, which was a terror for his mother at nights. He was a real handful for the Lady Kage. But with the help of several hand maidens and a mistress, they could manage to take care of him. The baby, whose name became Gaara, was loved by most of the people, but that was mostly because no one outside the elders and the Kazekage's family knew that he possessed by the dreaded Sand Demon.

And the Kazekage made anyone who did know to swear that they would never tell. So when Gaara's mother walked in the streets of Suna with Gaara in her arms and the two older children, Temari and Kankuro, they were greeted warmly by their people. Gaara had received many gifts from the people he would not know for a long time. Because while he was half a year old, the Akatsuki found out about him and the demon sharing the same body. In rage, they decided that since the Kazekage didn't want to give them the Sand spirit demon willingly, they would take it by force.

The attack came during a very warm spring morning, while everything was just barely starting to come alive.

The people of Suna were just starting to go about their daily routines, and the Kazekage was walking with his wife and children, just to meet with the people and get some more dragonfruit, which was something that Gaara seemed to adore drinking other than his mother's milk. Both Kankuro and Gaara seemed to take after their father more than their mother. They both had thick red hair much like the Kage had. But unlike Kankuro and his father's dark brown eyes, Gaara had pale green eyes like his mother's. The oldest child, Temari was more like her mother. She had thick blonde hair which she would put up in bushy pig tails and her eyes were like the Kazekage's. It was only the Lady Kage and Gaara who had teal colored eyes.

"Ohayou (Morning), Kazekage-sama." A few shop keepers called.

The Kazekage would return the greetings with a nod and his hand raised to acknowledge them. He smiled when a few shop girls walked up and offered desert flowers to his lovely wife. The Lady Kage would accept them with a gentle smile before patting them on the head while she balanced their newborn son in her other arm. But as the family of five walked together, the Kazekage suddenly got a very eerie feeling, something he always got when something was going wrong. He frowned and looked around before looking up into the sky to see a rather large bird flying high above the giant city. That was suspicious, indeed. For the Kazekage knew that there were no birds in this part of the desert, other than vultures. And that certainly was not a vulture.

Suddenly there was an explosion not far from them, making several people jump or scream in shock and confusion. The Kazekage jerked around, his arms immediately wrapping around his wife and baby boy, his eyes searching for the source of the explosion. There were so many murmurs and yelling now followed by several more explosions all over Suna. The streets immediately were erupted with screams.

"What the….?!" The Kazekage quickly looked at his wife and children. "Get the kids to safety! If it's the Akatsuki as I think it is, get Gaara and the children out of here! They must not touch him!" He told her. The Lady Kage frowned with worry and looked like she wanted to refuse but her husband shook his head as he grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes with sternness. "Love, we don't have time for an argument. If the Akatsuki get a hold of Gaara, they will kill him."

The Lady Kage sighed before she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss, while tears filled her eyes. She kissed him for a long moment before she pulled away, looking into his dark eyes. "Please, return to me." She begged him before she grabbed Kankuro's hand and hurried off with Temari right behind her. The Kazekage just watched them before his face twisted into a serious determination and then he rushed off to fight with the Akatsuki.

It was a terrible fight. Many of the Kazekage's shinobi had fought the Akatsuki, trying to protect the people and were killed doing so. The Kazekage, himself, had tried to fight several of them off at once, trying his best to kill them. He received many injuries during the process, and in the end, he was killed by the Akatsuki leader.

Upon hearing about the death of her husband, the Lady Kage knew she did not have time to grieve for him. She knew that the Akatsuki would be searching for her son. She packed as many things as she could think that they would need, having help from Temari, who was in tears after hearing what had happened to her father. But she was doing all that she could do to help her mother. Kankuro was confused at first but he cried just because his sister and mother were.

After night fell and the Akatsuki were still searching on the farther side of Suna, the Lady Kage and her children snuck out of their secret safe house, keeping an eye out for any guards. There was only once that Kankuro almost blew their cover by trying to run across the way to get to the next alley just as an Akatsuki member had been coming out of a house after searching it. It was only lucky that Temari quickly pulled him back out of view before he could be seen.

Finally, they were out of Suna.

The Lady Kage and her children ran as fast as they could dune to dune, looking back to make sure that no one had seen them. They thought they saw someone once but after a long moment, they realized that it was only the night mirages getting to them. They kept going, covering their mouths with clothes to stop from breathing in the sand. A few times they had to stop because Baby Gaara had started crying, and not wanting him to get very loud, the Lady Kage had to feed him so he would keep him quiet while her children kept watch for any movement.  
"Mama, why did those evil men attack Suna?" Temari asked as they walked later in the evening. She was carrying the exhausted Kankuro on her back since he had nearly stumbled on the sand from being so tired.

The Lady Kage sighed as she cradled Gaara closer to her chest, checking on him now and then. He was awake, of course, looking wonderingly up at the stars as shooting stars were whizzing above their head. "They attacked Suna because they are after the spirit of Shukaku, Temari." The mother sighed sadly.

Temari looked up at her with surprise before looking at the sand beneath their feet. She knew what Shukaku was. She had overheard her parents talking about it all the time when they thought she and Kankuro was asleep, when he really was. She had asked an elder once about what Shukaku was and they told her it was a wicked demon that had tormented the Wind Country for thousands of years. It was only recently that the Shinobi Elders managed to trap the demon inside her little brother. She had asked the elders why they would do that to a baby like Gaara. But the elders sighed and shook their heads. She never fully understood why it happened until she asked her father about it. The Kazekage hadn't wanted her to know but he could never resist the puppy eyed look that Temari learned to control him with. So he told her that it was an accident that Shukaku was placed inside Gaara, that the elders hadn't meant to put it into him.

"Why, mother? Why do they want the spirit? If they took Shukaku out of Gaara, wouldn't it kill him?" Temari asked her voice breaking.

The Lady Kage shivered with her own grief to think about that. She knew that her answer would only hurt Temari. The young girl loved her youngest brother with all her heart, even though when he cried it annoyed her. "Yes, Temari. It would kill Gaara." She answered, her voice thick with sorrow.

As expected, Temari started crying. "Wh-why…why would those m-men want to kill Gaara?!"

The Lady Kage stopped and placed one hand on Temari's face, giving her a look of comfort. She knew if Temari wasn't quiet, the Akatsuki might hear, if they were close at all. "Temari, they will never touch Gaara. You and I will make sure of it." She promised. Temari slowly nodded and they continued on their way.

Two days of wandering passed and they finally crossed the borders into the Land of Fire; the Lady Kage could tell by how green the trees were now. She almost smiled when Temari and Kankuro gasped with wonder and began looking at trees and bushes. They had never really see so much green in their lives. Nor had they ever seen trees like these. With a smile, the three continued, even though there was much grief. And as they traveled further into the forests, the Lady Kage suddenly realized how quiet it was. There were no birds singing anymore. She grew very still, pulling her children to stop. Temari and Kankuro were confused but they knew that look on their mother's face. They knew that something serious was about to happen. Breathing deeply, the Lady Kage looked around with alert before she saw him.

There was a man standing in the trees, looking down at them. A man wearing long black robes with red spiral markings. Akatsuki!

"No!" The Lady Kage gasped before she shoved her children into a run while hurrying behind them. She knew that if they got caught now, her baby boy would die. And possibly Temari and Kankuro with him. She had to get them to safety. Their lives depended on it. "Run, children! They're here!"

Immediately Temari and Kankuro ran as fast as they could. They could hear the Akatsuki's robes snapping behind them as he gave chase now. He was moving quickly when they took off running. The Lady Kage made a worried face when Gaara chose that exact moment to start crying. She knew that would alert the Akatsuki that she had a baby, the baby that he was looking for.

"Stop now!" The Akatsuki ordered; it was a very young

But the Lady Kage would not listen. She pushed her children into running hard, while shielding Gaara from the trees. She winced a few times as branches cut her face but she didn't slow down at all.

Suddenly, there was a flash of black in front of the three, making Temari and Kankuro gasp in fear as they tried to stop only to run right into him. The Lady Kage was faster to stopping. She gritted her teeth when the Akatsuki grabbed a hold of her two children, holding onto them painfully tight. She quickly hugged the now screaming and crying Gaara close her chest before lashing out a fist and slugging the ninja across the face, making him stagger back a little and forced him to release Temari and Kankuro. But for a brief moment, his eyes flickered down to the baby in the woman's arms, who had the chance to open his eyes and look right at who his mother just punched. Those deep emerald eyes met fiery red black ones.

But then they were torn away when the Lady Kage lashed out her foot now, attacking the Akatsuki. The ninja quickly moved back to avoid getting hit anymore, leaping into the far tree behind him. With a fierce look at him again, the Lady Kage and her children were running as fast as they could again.

The Akatsuki watched them for a moment before his eyes narrowed dangerously and he took out a long kunai. He just continued to stand there, before throwing the kunai as hard as he could after the Lady Kage. The kunai whistled in the air as it lashed through their air until it slammed into the woman's back.

"Argh!" The Lady Kage screamed in pain, making Gaara cry again. She almost stumbled but managed to catch herself on a tree. She could feel the hot blade in the middle of her back but she knew she could not stop. She saw Temari and Kankuro jerk around when she had screamed but she quickly shook her head and took off running with them beside her. "Just run! Don't stop! Just keep running!" She told them as they ran. As they ran, the Lady Kage quickly reached up behind her and wiped some of her blood from her back, pulling it back with a wince. She looked at her hot blood, knowing that it was bad. But a sudden idea came to her mind. If she could, she would do what she could to make sure that Gaara stayed safe.

"All mighty Shukaku, hear my cry." She whispered to the baby in her arms. "Protect my son. With this symbol, I give you my life." She touched Gaara's head, now writing in Kanji, a symbol. The symbol of love.

Not long after, there two flashes of black and two Akatsuki were now running alongside them. The black haired one with red eyes and a shark head looking one. The Lady Kage gritted her teeth, even though her children were screaming in fear now. She knew they were in deep trouble. She gritted her teeth when one of them tried to reach for her. She moved quickly around a tree so that the shark looking man would crash right into it. It slowed him down. The black haired one though, reached for Kankuro, grasping his sleeve and yanking him to a stop.

"Ahhh! Mommy!" The terrified boy screamed.

The Lady Kage and Temari almost stopped to look wild eyed at the man and Kankuro but with a pained look, the mother shoved Gaara into Temari's arms. "Temari! Run!" She told her, looking into the girl's stunned eyes. She shook her head as she pushed her daughter. "Temari! They will kill him! You are the fastest runner of our family! RUN!" She screamed at the blonde.  
Hugging Gaara close, Temari nodded and bolted as fast as she could. She knew that her mother was about to fight the Akatsuki, to save Kankuro. But her part right now was to save Gaara. So she just ran.

"Get the demon carrier, Kisame!" The black haired Akatsuki yelled as he held the struggling Kankuro. The shark man nodded and started running after Temari. But the Lady Kage quickly got into this way and made quick hand signals. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" She yelled before there was an explosion of smoke and there were two of her. "Let my little puppeteer go!" They both yelled before charging at both of the Akatsuki.

Temari heard her mother scream in the distance behind her but she didn't stop to turn back. She just kept on running with tears in her eyes, holding on her struggling and crying baby brother. She didn't know what happened to her mother or her brother, but she had to save Gaara.

Because of her tears blinding her vision, she stumbled right into thick bushes, cutting her skin. But she did all she could to protect her baby brother as she quickly pushed herself through, almost stepping right into a river. Only one foot went in, splashing herself and Gaara with cold water. "Gasp!" She yelped before stumbling back onto her rear. She looked at the wide river rumbling before her. She knew she had hit a dead end, for she could not swim. She had never seen so much water before in her life.

Swallowing hard, Temari whirled around when she heard crashing in the trees and someone was yelling for her. She knew it wasn't her mother. Helplessly, she looked down at the crying Gaara. "Oh, Gaara." She cried, hugging him. "What am I going to do? How can I save you?!" She shook her head as she hugged him closer. "Please, Shukaku." She whispered to the demon inside her brother. "Please save Gaara. For both of your sakes. Please take care of him." She looked frantically around for any solution and then she saw it.

A small wooden raft.

With a startled yelp, she climbed to her feet and hurried over to it, pulling it out of the thick trees that had it trapped. Unfortunately it was not big enough for her and Gaara. She had already tried to climb in it and it almost capsized. She knew that she would not be able to go with him. Temari left a few tears stream down her cheeks before she looked at Gaara, seeing that he was stop crying. "Little brother," She whispered as she looked directly into his eyes. "You're safe now and safe may you stay. For I have a prayer just for you. Stay safe, grow up someday and come back to Suna to free us. I swear it, I will come find you again." She kissed him on the forehead, not even noticing the symbol stained into his skin. Then she placed him in the boat, among broken branches and vegetation, covering him up with his thick desert blanket.

"Hey! I think the brat went this way!"

Temari gasped when she heard the voice. She shook her head as she quickly placed the sand in his blanket. Then she quickly pushed the broken boat out into the river, letting the current catch his raft. She watched it for a moment before she jerked around as she heard the Akatsuki now approaching. She just shook her head and began running up stream, taking off her jacket and making it into a bundle so that it would look like she was still carrying Gaara. She hugged her jacket close to her body as she just kept on running, hoping that the Akatsuki would be fooled into following her and not go after Gaara's raft.

Luck was on her side.

For not moments later, she saw a flash of black jump right into her path and there was the black haired Akatsuki, covered in blood, while his partner was carrying an unconscious Kankuro.  
Temari didn't stop to think of where her mother was for she just turned and jumped into the river, knowing that she was being stupid but she had to make him think that she was going to run into the river.

It seemed to have worked because the Akatsuki were quickly following her. She yelped when she stumbled in deep water, dropping her jacket and almost going down under the surface. That is until a strong hand slapped against her head and pulled her back up by her hair. The black haired Akatsuki was the one who had grabbed her. Frantically, he began splashing in the water, lashing out within it to grab a hold of the "baby". But his fingers met nothing. He gritted his teeth as he looked down at the terrified blonde. "You!" He snarled before throwing her hard to ashore before he continued to search the waters. "Kisame! The demon carrier! It's in the water! Help me find it!"

The shark man dropped Kankuro as if he was a sack of potatoes and lunged into the water to help search for the baby. Both of them thrashed around in the water, diving down to go under to see if they could see the baby. But after ten minutes of thrashing around, they knew it was too late. They figured that the current had caught the infant's body and had carried it off. "Kuso!" Kisame roared before whirling around and glaring at Temari who was trying to wake Kankuro up. "You little gaki!" He lunged towards her, wanting to rip her apart for what she had done.  
But his partner caught him, holding him back. "Kisame! Our orders were to not kill the children!" He barked.

Kisame tried to ignore him as he thrashed against the younger Akatsuki member, trying to get at the even more terrified Temari. "Shut up, Itachi! I want to taste her blood! Let me kill the little wretch! We've failed our mission because of her!" He snarled as he struggled against Itachi.

"Enough, Kisame."

Both Akatsuki froze before looking to see more of their comrades, including their leader, Sasori. They were all looking very serious about what has happened but they knew that it was no use getting angry other than they already were. Sasori shook his head as he moved forward, looking at the trembling girl. "It's too late now. What's done is done. But either way, we have Suna under our command now. The One tailed Beast is gone. There's no helping that." He shook his head as he glared at Temari now. "We shall return without the beast. The Kazekage and his lover are dead. Sunakagure belongs to the Akatsuki now. As for the children, they can return to Suna and be placed into the prison cells to rot there for the rest of their lives." He then turned away and started walking. "Itachi, Kisame, bring them."

Temari let tears slide down her cheeks as the black haired Akatsuki yanked her up to her feet. She glanced down the river, praying that Gaara would remain safe.


	2. Chapter Two

The boat carrying the baby was slowly drifting down the river, with a whimpering baby boy riding it. Gaara's eyes were looking around in wonder of his surroundings. Being a baby, he wasn't even sure what was going on. He had no idea where he was, and what had happened to his family. He was only a baby, so what did he know?

Well, besides the dragonfly now buzzing above his raft, landing on the raft where he could still see it.

As the hunk of wood carried the baby, the current was starting to pick up speed, and would bounce around. Water began splashing against the sides, falling onto Gaara, startling him and the dragonfly. But for some reason, the bug didn't leave, even if it was getting wet. It actually seemed to be looking down at Gaara. A few times it flapped its wings to shake off the water. Buzzing a few times, it flapped its wings hard now, still holding onto the raft, as if trying to take off but it was stuck. It began making strange buzzing sounds, as if crying out for something. A sharp pain in Gaara's forehead alerted the baby that something was wrong and it caused him to start screaming and let tears starting to roll down the sides of his face. He only screamed more when water splashed heavily onto his face, for the current was starting to get rough.

Deep within the baby's body, the Sand demon, Shukaku stirred, though it could not take control. It could sense danger now, but it could not do anything about it unless the baby fell asleep.

"Whoa, whoa! What is that?!" Someone exclaimed.

A second later, the raft jerked out of the water, making the baby jump as more water splashed onto him but he continued to cry as he felt himself being lifted up. The dragonfly had finally buzzed off, yet was still flying nearby, as if waiting for something. Something or someone.

But the baby had immediately forgotten about the bug.

Instead, his attention now was on the man who had pulled him out of the river, meeting very unfamiliar eyes. Seeing that he didn't recognize this man, Gaara burst into tears and wailed as loud as he could. "Oh, poor little thing. Shhh. It's okay, little guy." Came a soothing rumble as his rescuer pulled him out of the broken boat and cradled him against his warm chest. The warmth helped a little for Gaara started to quiet down. The man who had pulled the baby out of the river was actually quite famous in all of the lands, though Gaara wouldn't have known that.

His name was Jiraiya.

He was a very tall man with snow-white hair and dark eyes, with red lines tattoo under them.. He was powerfully built, as well. Jiraiya also happened to be a Legendary Shinobi from Konohagkure, the Hidden Village of the Leaf. "There, there. Don't cry." The large man said softly as he began to rock the baby. It was actually helping a lot. Jiraiya chuckled as the baby stopped crying. He nodded in satisfaction before looking down the river bank to see the waterfall that the raft almost went over. "Jeeze. You could have died if you went over those falls." He then looked back down at Gaara, soothingly. "What in the blazes were you doing on the river, anyway? Where did you come from, little guy?" He then frowned as he suddenly noticed the strange red marking on his forehead. "Huh?"

Without a word, the Shinobi reached up and gently brushed Gaara's thick red hair away from the marking, his eyes growing brighter with surprise to see it. The marking was written in blood, mixed with sand. Frowning more, Jiraiya tried to wipe the blood and sand away but found, much to his shock, that it couldn't come off. It was as if it was embedded in his skin.

"Hmm." That's strange. Someone's put a seal on you. I wonder why. All well. That word, it means love. I wonder what your name is." He looked the baby over before finding a name written on the blanket. "Gaara, huh? Well, there's a name to remember. But if it's your name, then Gaara is what I'll call you." He then smiled at the baby, who blinked up at him.

"Jiraiya-sama."

Jiraiya turned around to see a few more Shinobi approaching him. Most of them were Jounin or ANBU but there were a few Chunin among them. But the Legendary Shinobi's eyes turned onto the student of his former student, a young man named Kakashi. For it had been him who called his name. "Hey, Kashi." Then the ninja looked over at a very stoic like man wearing dark sunglasses; the Head of the Aburame Clan. "Hey, Shibi! Looks like you were right. Or at least one of your bug friends was. There really was something interesting on the river.: He announced, showing them the baby. Interested, all of the Shinobi moved forward and looked Gaara over. Some of them were so astonished that they stared wide eyed at the red haired boy. Kakashi Hatake tilted his head as he looked Gaara over with his one revealed eye, frowning slightly. "A baby? On the river? That's rather odd."

"Awww! He's so cute! Such a youthful seed from someone's fruit!" A black haired, bowl cut with thick caterpillar eyebrows man cheered as he reached over and tried to tickle Gaara's chin. "Cuchi coo! Cuchi coo! You're so cute, aren't you, little youthful rose haired youth!" He said happily.

Gaara just looked wide eyed up at him, as if he was some kind of freak, his mouth in a wide circle.

The young Shinobi, Kakashi, just snorted as if he had read that look before he pushed his "Eternal Rival", Gai out of the way as he noticed the marking on the baby's head. "Hmm. Love." He frowned under his mask before straightening. "I wonder what he was doing on the river. He then reached up to touch the marking.

"Don't touch it!" snapped one of the older Shinobi, a man named Ibiki Morino.

Kakashi pulled his hand back while everyone just looked at him with surprise and confusion. They could see the ANBU eyeing Gaara with a little distaste and suspicion. He didn't seem to trust the baby at all. But that was how he was. He hardly trusted anyone, so it wasn't anything new to the other Shinobi. "Ibiki, what is wrong with you? Why're you looking at Gaara like that?" Jiraiya asked as he continued to rock the baby to keep him from crying. 

The others looked at him, somewhat amused. "Gaara? You just found the little pup and you're already naming him?" The dog like Shinobi, Inuzuka asked teasingly. Jiraiya only grinned at him and shook his head. "Naw." He pulled back the blanket, revealing his name on it. "He came with it."

Ibiki scowled but shook his head as he continued to look at Gaara with dark eyes. "I don't like this infant. There's something…..fishy about him. I can sense a great amount of Chakra inside him. Don't tell me you can't." He growled. The other Shinobi rolled their eyes or frowned. Sure they had sensed a little Chakra in him, but seriously, was that something to get so worked up about?

"He's just a baby, Ibiki." Gai said, frowning. "Don't be so paranoid."

Both of them glared at one another, almost challengingly. The young Chunin, Iruka Umino, however, frowned as he looked Gaara over, noting how outlandish his clothing was. "He looks like he's from elsewhere. What should we do with him? What if his family is looking for him?" He asked curiously. 

The Shinobi thought for a moment before Jiraiya nodded and looked up the river. "All right. Let's take a look around, see if his family is looking for him. If they are, it's more than likely that they're just up river." He told them. Everyone nodded and off they went.

For nearly an hour in a half they searched, looking for anyone that might have been his family. There were a few travelers they ran into and when they asked if they were the baby's family, they received a no. Jiraiya kept Gaara with him though. Only once he tried to had the baby to Gai, who had been the most enthusiastic about taking him when nature called for the white haired Shinobi, but Gaara didn't seem to like Gai very much. For when the over cheerful man took him, he started crying. Gai did all he could to try and stop Gaara from crying, but the baby did not like him at all. He would only cry louder and louder. It was when Kakashi had enough of listening to Gaara did he take him away from Gai and began rocking him like Jiraiya had before. Immediately, Gaara calmed down. It was actually amazing to the other Shinobi. It even amazed Kakashi on how fast the baby stopped crying just because he took him away from his rival.

"Oh wow. I didn't know you were so good with kids." Iruka said with a smile. Kakashi only frowned as he looked down into the baby's eyes, who looked back at him. He couldn't help but feel a little spark of pride inside him. He hadn't known that he was good with kids either. He had never had a younger sibling, much less, he was practically the last one of his clan. So he wasn't used to children. But as he held Gaara in his arms, he felt a sudden urge that maybe someday, he might want kids.

After a little more time of searching, they finally found something that nearly took their breaths away, and not in a good way.

All of the Shinobi stood around the body of the Lady Kage, looking down at her corpse with grave and serious looks. They knew this had to be Gaara's mother for her clothing was similar to his. She had been brutally killed, as they could see. Blood drenched her clothing and stained the forest ground. But it was no doubt that she was dead. Jiraiya sighed deeply while Kakashi was still holding Gaara, though he held the baby closer, tilting him inward as if to shield him from the sight of his dead mother.

"Well….." Aburame spoke in a very low voice. "Now we know why Gaara was alone."

Iruka looked rather pained as he looked down at the dead mother while Ibiki was examining the body, as if looking for some clue to who she was or where they were from. But he didn't find anything. "Why….who would do this?" The young Shinobi, Iruka asked painfully.

No one could answer the question, for they couldn't tell.

Jiraiya shook his head as he turned his head away from the massacred body of the woman and looked at the baby in Kakashi's arms with sorrow. "It must have been bandits or something. She must have placed him in the river to save him when she couldn't save herself. It's no doubt a foreigner, maybe from the Wind Country. But there's no real way to tell unless we go there. But that's not an option. The Sand ninja and we don't get along very well." He told them. He was quiet for a long moment before he rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's take him back to the village. Let the Hokage decide what to do with him. But one thing's for sure, this kid has got nowhere else to go." He told them.

Slowly the other Shinobi nodded as they just stared at the body. None of them could imagine who would do this to a woman, much less a mother with a six month old infant. But whoever it was, they were a monster. Soon, they returned to Konohagkure, the Hidden Village in the Leaves and reported to the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage, Sandaime was an elderly man, one of the oldest in the village. He had grey-white hair and was terribly wrinkled with age. But he had great strength in his eyes, which were full of seriousness as Jiraiya told him about what they had found. His eyes flickered over to Kakashi still holding on to the baby they had found at the Konoha river. But once the reports were finished, the Hokage slowly motioned to Kakashi. "Let me see this desert child."

Kakashi nodded and slowly approached with the wide awake baby, who had been watching him. He bent down before the Hokage, tilting Gaara towards the old man so that he could see him. And Gaara's eyes looked directly into the elder's. Frowning even more, the Third reached out and gently took the baby from Kakashi into his own arms, looking him over. Some of the Shinobi had been holding their breath, almost waiting for the child to start crying again but to their relief he did not. He just looked up at the Hokage with curiosity, as if he was a very interesting sight to look at. The old man's eyes slowly took in Gaara's appearance and even touched the marking on his forehead. Then as if he figured something out, he drew back a little before looking sharply at Kakashi. "Kakashi, with your Sharingan you have received from your old friend a year ago, put the child to sleep."

That surprised everyone from hearing that. What exactly was the Third thinking? Why put the child asleep? Even Jiraiya and Ibiki were confused and they were the oldest Shinobi in the small group. They had known the Third the longest.

"Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked with uncertainty.

The Third shook his head as he grabbed one of his pillows he was sitting on and gently put the baby on it. He didn't say anything for a moment as he reached up and took one of his kunai, cutting a finger open and drew a blood circle around the pillow while saying a few words in a low voice. "Kakashi, please put the boy to sleep. I'm curious to see what would happen." He then motioned to the growing dark spots under the baby's eyes. "If you all would have paid more attention to him, you would notice that this child does not sleep very much."

The Shinobi looked at the faint dark circles under the baby's eyes and saw that the Third spoke true. For this child looked tired, yet he wouldn't fall asleep. So Kakashi nodded as he reached up and pulled his forehead protector up to reveal his left eye. And anyone who didn't know Kakashi very much, they would have been surprised to see the blood red and black eye.  
However, upon seeing it before the silver haired Shinobi could activate a jutsu, Gaara saw it and burst into tears, surprising everyone but the Third Hokage.

"Huh?" Jiraiya asked as he started forward to try and calm him down. He stopped immediately when the Third held up a hand to tell him to stay back. The white haired Shinobi frowned but kept back. 

"Kakashi. Put him to sleep now." The Third ordered quietly. Kakashi was still a little puzzled about why Gaara reacted like that but he nodded as he reached down and gently tilted the baby's head upward so that he could look right into the baby's eyes. Gaara cried even harder as he looked up at the red eye but slowly stopped when the strange black swirls in them began to revolve. And as the infant watched them, his eyes began to droop. Seconds later, he fell asleep.

And that was a very big mistake.

The floor in the room began to vibrate and the decorations on the Third's walls began to shake, a few falling loose and crashing to the floor. The very activity, itself, stunned the Shinobi, other than the Third of course. He actually looked like he was expecting this. He sighed and shook his head as he stood up, moving away from Gaara and the now growing cloud of sand swirling around him. Kakashi backed away in alarm, his eyes widened, yet he closed the left to save up his energy, seeing that the Sharingan was sucking up a little power. The sand grew more and more around Gaara, who seemed to be going through a transformation. Moments later, the infant was no longer laying there, but a large sand creature was. It was grinning evilly as it looked around the room at the Shinobi. Growling, it tried to leap at Kakashi and the Third.

Instinctively, Kakashi threw up his defenses while the Third just remained calm.

But the creature seemed to smack right into an invisible wall because it could not move any closer. It began to growl in irritation as it continued to move forward but it couldn't. The blood seals around it were holding it in. The Shinobi were alarmed nonetheless. They hadn't expected this at all. But they could see an imprint of Gaara on the monster's head. And they could see the one tail wrapped around the creature's ankles.

"So, I was right not to trust that infant." Ibiki growled, now pulling out a long bladed kunai.

The Third held up a hand to him, as if to stop him. Which it worked for Ibiki didn't move forward to attack the creature. But all eyes were on the demonic creature, who looked back at the Third. "So, you are Shukaku, the Sand Demon of the Country of Wind. I have heard much about you, though I'm surprised you are possessing a baby boy. Maybe you would like to shed some light on what has happened."

"What's in it for me if I should tell you anything, pathetic old human?" The demon sneered.

Some of the Shinobi hadn't liked that but they didn't move because the Third's hand was still up as if to tell them to wait. He looked rather calm as he looked into the demon's eyes. "For one, we won't destroy you. If the infant dies, you will cease to exist as well. For another, because if you don't, you can stay in that circle until you are ready to answer my questions."

The demon didn't seem to like that but it knew that was true. Its body went lax as it glared hatefully at the Hokage but then it lift its head a little. "Very well. The boy's name is Gaara, as that one has figured out." It motioned to Jiraiya. "He was the son of the Kazekage of Sunagakure, who has been perished to enemy ninja. They were after the boy because I possess his tiny body. The infant's mother tried to escape with us but was killed after the boy's older sibling, a girl, placed the infant on the river to save him from the clutches of the Akatsuki."

Alarmed, the Hokage and Jiraiya stepped back. It was obvious they knew that name or at least had heard of it before. But after a brief moment, the Third nodded for the demon to go on.  
"The Akatsuki wishes to extract me from this weak body and use me to do their bidding." Shukaku continued. "As for my situation with the boy, for I know what you are thinking, I can take control of his body if he falls asleep. That is why there are dark circles under his eyes. His parents tries to keep him awake to keep me trapped within his body." 

Slowly, the Third nodded in understanding before he folded his hands together. "Very well. Might I ask you to wake the boy up then, or at least not take control at the moment?"

"Hell no. I like being in control." Shukaku said grinning evilly.

The Third just shook his head as he glanced at his Shinobi, who all looked agitated. "My Shinobi, please leave us. I wish to speak to Shukaku alone." He told them. The Shinobi, all of them, looked uneasy about that. They did not want to leave the Third Hokage alone in a room with a demon. Some of them were already shaking their heads but the Third gave them a grim smile. "It's all right. I'm more than able to taking care of myself, my friends. Please leave for the time being." He told them. Slowly, with much hesitation, the Shinobi listened and left the room. "Now then. Let's come up with a bargain." The Third said as soon as he and the demon were alone.

Almost twenty long minutes later, the Third Hokage walked out of the room with Gaara in his arms, smiling in satisfaction. He looked as if something had happened that he had wanted. It surprised the Shinobi even more that the infant had returned. So what had happened with the demon?

"Hokage-sama, what has happened with the demon?" Ibiki asked seriously. "Do we destroy its carrier? I'll do it if you need me to." He was eyeing Gaara again with distaste while he fingered a kunai. But the Third shook his head as he continued to hold the surprising still asleep infant. "No. The infant will be staying in our village as one of our own." That surprised all of the Shinobi. "I have made a bargain with Shukaku, dealing with the safety of our village. The details of that bargain are of our own until the time comes for me to inform all of you. But for now, we shall raise Gaara as if he is one of our own leaf children."

"But, Hokage-sama, isn't the One Tailed Beast dangerous? Wouldn't keeping it here endanger our village?" Iruka asked with concern.

The Third slowly nodded. "If it were not for our bargain, Iruka, our village would be in danger of Shukaku. But due to that I have come up with an understanding with the Sand demon. He has agreed to never endanger our village if we allow him to continuing possessing the child and that he will hardly ever be in danger until the time comes for the boy's coming of age. And we are to train him to be ninja." That came as another shock to the Shinobi. They looked like they wanted to protest immediately. But the Third Hokage shook his head, looking seriously at them now. "That is my decision, gentlemen. If we do not follow the agreement with Shukaku, we will have a lot of trouble. And seeing that last year, we've already been through a demon massacre."  
Several eyes turned away, full of sorrow. They knew what he meant. Only the year before, another dangerous demon, the nine tailed fox, Kyubi had attacked Konoha and many had been killed. If it hadn't been for the former Hokage, the Fourth, the entire village would have been destroyed. But it had cost the Fourth's life, causing the Third to come out of retirement and lead again.

"Master," Jiraiya said, looking even more serious than he already had. "Are you sure you want to do this? What if Shukaku breaks his end of the bargain and we have the Nine Tailed Fox all over again?"

The Third shook his head. "It will not happen unless we break our contract first. I will not see this village be destroyed by the demon and he has swore on the tongue of the demons that he will not break his contract. And seeing that demons don't really lie or break promises, we will have to leave it at that. The only thing we must worry about is having a short meeting with all of the ANBU, the Clan Heads, and perhaps the Jounin about our new villager."

"Hokage-sama, I don't agree with this situation. I think it would be best if we just destroyed the carrier now and be done with him." Ibiki said, frowning. The Third shook his head again as he looked down at the slumbering child, who was stirring now. "I know you are concerned about the village, but you must trust me now, Ibiki. I know what I am doing. The child, Gaara is one of us now. We will protect him from the Akatsuki. They must not lay their hands on him. For if they do, they will have control over Shukaku and the Great Five Lands will be in trouble. So we will keep an eye on the child and see how he will fare among our children." He then shrugged. "We might as well raise him alongside the Kyubi carrier."

Kakashi shook his head as he folded his arms, looking just as grave as Ibiki. "Hokage-sama, I hate to agree with Ibiki, but this child will not be a favorite if we tell everyone about him." He told him.

"It probably doesn't matter. Just as long as we raise the boy to become a Shinobi. He may become a great asset to our village. With the power of Shukaku and Kyubi in our village, we will never have to worry being in danger against our enemies. So, therefore, we will keep him." The Third said, shaking his head. A few of the Shinobi nodded in agreement. They figured that the Third knew what he was doing. Ibiki still looked suspicious and he probably would stay that way. "Hokage-sama, I still don't like this. But I will trust your judgment, even if I don't trust the Omni." With a dark look aimed at the baby Gaara, he turned and walked away.

"There is just one thing we must ask now, Master." Jiraiya said frowning. "If the child does stay here in Konoha, who's to watch over him? I would if I was not always traveling. But I think I should gather some information about the Akatsuki. Just to find out exactly why they killed the Kazekage." He told him. 

The Third slowly nodded as he looked down at the baby in his arms, knowing that once the Clans found out about Gaara, they weren't going to like it. They didn't even like the baby, Naruto Uzumaki because he carried Kyubi inside his body, and that boy was born in Konoha. What made anyone think that they would treat Gaara any different? He might actually get treated worst because he was from Sunagakure, which Konoha did not get along with very well. Even with the demon. This thought trouble the Third but he was willing to give it a try anyway.

And he had been right.

As soon as he met with the Heads of each Clan, the ANBU, and all of the Jounin, introducing them to the newest member of the Konoha villager, the baby only got very dirty looks from most of the clan leaders. It was harder to tell what the ANBU members' reactions were because they were wearing their animalistic masks. But the Third was pretty sure that they were glaring at the baby as well. For they had had many clashes with Sand ninja plenty of times before. And now they had the very son of the Kazekage, one of their greatest enemies, right before them. The Jounin didn't really look like they cared either way.

"I cannot believe you are going to let this….this creature stay in our village, Hokage-sama." The Leader of the Uchiha clan said, dryly as he eyed the child with disgust.

The Third just shook his head as he looked down at Gaara, who was being fed by a bottle for he had gotten hungry during the meeting. It was Jiraiya who was feeding him again. The man seemed to have become fond of him, even though there was a demon inside of him. "He'd make a very powerful ally, Lord Uchiha, and a very dangerous enemy." He stated the fact. "I'd rather have him on our side when the time comes."

A few other Shinobi nodded in agreement, though Lord Uchiha's lips curled in distaste. "It is your decision, Hokage-sama. And I will respect your wishes. But that creature, as well as the other will stay away from my children. If they come near them, please do not be offended if I should choose to ward him back in my own way." He turned away. "May I be excused, Lord Hokage? I have better things to do than welcome a monster into our village." He said savagely. 

The Hokage sighed but nodded. "Very well, Lord Uchiha. All of you may go now. But take this as a heed warning, Gaara is one of us now, like it or not. And he is here because there is a bigger threat after the demon inside him. No one else must know of Shukaku's presence. Not even the children of our village. You are all dismissed."

And slowly everyone left, leaving the Third, Jiraiya, and Kakashi with Gaara. The legendary Shinobi looked rather disappointed and annoyed at how everyone reacted to the baby. "The prejudice begins. It's not fair to this poor kid, who has lost everything."

The Third shook his head as he looked at the red haired baby in his former student's arms, who was happily sucking on the bottle. "But it's not unexpected. Gaara is from enemy lands, and he does have a demon inside him. I'm afraid that we have not seen the last of the dislike for your young friend, Jiraiya. In the mean time, take him to the hospital where the nurses can look after him. After that, we will figure out what we will do with the boy." He told him. Jiraiya nodded as turned and left the room with Gaara in his arms. Then the Third turned to Kakashi, looking thoughtful. "Kakashi, I have a job for you."

"What is it, Hokage-sama?" The young man asked with a frown.

The Third took a deep breath and folded his hands behind his back. "I want you to watch both of the boys now and then. Minato's son and Gaara. I'm curious of where this is going to go. And I think that they may need a little protection from our very own people. You don't have to mingle with them. Just keep an eye on them."

Kakashi watched him for a moment before he bowed in respect. "Very well, Lord Hokage. I will obey your orders." He then turned and left the Third to think to himself. And the only thought going through the Hokage's mind was exactly how interesting this whole situation might just get.


	3. Chapter Three

Eight years later

Throughout the years, things were pretty much the same in Konoha. The people went about their business and nothing really changed for anyone. The village was more alive during the spring because of the new recruits to the Ninja Academy. Many children were entering the school now, including several of children of the clans.

But if there was one thing that had not changed, it was the treatment that Gaara had always gotten from the other villagers.

All six years of his life, or at least of what he remembered, many people always looked at him with distaste, fear or resentment. It was if they did not want him there at all. And because of their parents' disgust of the strange red haired boy, most of the children completely ignored him or bullied him. They acted as if they wanted nothing to do with him. They were told many times to never go near him or talk to him. They told the children that he was a very bad boy and they were never allowed to go near him. So they believed them.

And for six years, Gaara lived quite lonely. He wasn't really raised by anyone, seeing that for some reason everyone feared him, even though he was just a child. A few times, a nurse would check up on him because orders from the Hokage, but otherwise, he was alone. Gaara didn't understand it though. Why didn't everyone hate him? What had he done to earn their hatred? Nothing as far as he could tell. He couldn't figure out why no one liked him. Was it because he had red hair, pale skin and dark circles around his eyes? He couldn't help it the way he looked. He had been born that way, even though he didn't even know who his parents were. From what the nurses had told him, or the Hokage himself, he had been found in the forest, abandoned by his parents. No one really actually paused to let him know why no one liked him.

Except one person.

If there was only one person who seemed to understand and care about Gaara, it would have been the Toad Sage and Legendary Ninja, Jiraiya; who unfortunately was also Konoha's biggest pervert. For most of his life, the white haired Shinobi cared for him, had taught him how to walk and talk, and even told him that the reason why no one liked him was because he was unique.

"You're a special gaki, Gaara. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise." Jiraiya told him. Easier said than done though, Gaara always thought.

However, the thing was about Jiraiya, he did a lot of traveling so Gaara didn't seem him as much as he would have liked. The first four years of his life, Jiraiya had taken care of him when the nurses couldn't; or at least wouldn't. But after Gaara turned four, Jiraiya told him that he had to go through a lot of training to keep up his Shinobi skills. So for two years, Gaara only saw Jiraiya once a month. When he wasn't around, the young boy stayed at the hospital because he had nowhere else to go.

"Hey! Look, it's the ugly red head!"

Gaara blinked out of his thoughts and stopped swinging back and forth on the swing he was on to look at who was speaking. To his disgust, it was some of the local boys who picked on him daily. They always made fun of his red hair and the dark circles around his eyes and his very size. He was actually rather petite for his age. And the reason for the dark circles around his eyes, he didn't sleep as much as others would. He hardly slept at all, truth be told. Every time he tried, he would have terrible nightmares about a monster made out of sand or dreams of black and red monsters attacking people he didn't even know. It terrified him too much that he was so afraid to sleep. So he didn't go to bed like everyone.

"Hey, freak!" said one of the boys as the four boys as they approached him. "If I was to punch you in the eyes, how'd notice with your already black eyes?"  
Gaara just eyed them dully as he began swinging back and forth again, trying his best to ignore them. He really didn't want to fight with them today. He would only get into trouble again. And he had had enough of that. But he knew that trouble would always find him anyway.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, baka!" The boy snapped as he lashed out and grabbed Gaara by the front of his shirt, yanking him off the swing. He even brandished a fist at him. Gaara met the boy's eyes with his teal colored ones, looking dryly at him. He didn't even try to pull away as the boy sneered at him. The boy's friends were trying to coax him into beating up the red haired boy, cheering him on. "If you are smart," Gaara spoke in a very low voice. "You will let go of me right now."

The boys all glared at him as if he had called them a very nasty word. "What did you say to me?! If you're smart, you'd go jump off the Hokage Mountain! No one likes having you here, ugly! You are a loser!" The boy holding him growled before threw back a fist to punch him in the face. He even started to swing but before he could, something grabbed his arm, holding it back. He jumped and looked at what it was, only to see a large handmade completely out of sand.

"I warned you." Gaara said, before he raised a hand and squeezed it into a fist.

Without warning, the sand made fist closed tightly around the boy's arm, squeezing until he cried out in pain and let Gaara go. The hand, however, did not. It just squeezed harder until there was a low snap, proving that it just broke his arm. The boy screamed in pain before he turned and started running away with his alarmed friends. "Freak!" They shouted as they went. Gaara just watched them go before he turned to go back to the swing with the sand following him and returning back into his pocket. That was another thing that not many people understood about him. When Gaara had been young, he found that he had control over sand. It was strange enough but he felt a connection with sand every time he was near it. He could do so much with sand, it was amazing.

WHAP!

Gaara yelped when the stone hit him hard in the side of the head, sending him flying forward onto the ground. He heard the boys laugh again before really taking off. Gaara laid there in the dirt, tears stinging his eyes as his head throbbed. He could already feel his blood now running through his hair as he slowly got to his knees, reaching to touch the spot where the stone had hit. He felt the warm blood on his hand, making him wince a little.

"That must have hurt. Even I felt that."

Gaara groaned when he heard it. That was another thing he hated. Ever since he was very small, smaller than he already was, he had a voice that was always with him. He even heard it in his dreams whenever he did sleep. He wasn't sure who it was, but it had always been there with him during his trials. Sometimes Gaara found it rather comforting to have someone there to talk to him when Jiraiya wasn't around.

"Maybe you should kill the bakas. You have the power to do it, you know?" 

Gaara shook his head as he pushed himself to his feet, looking down at the ground. He placed his hand over the bleeding spot on his head, dabbing it lightly. He wasn't going to get an argument with the voice today. He knew that if he killed the so called bakas, something bad would happen. But he wanted to do something. "Forget it." He muttered.  
"Oh please. You're going to let them get away with it again?" 

The red haired eight year old just smirked coldly as he went over and sat back down on the swing, still rubbing the slightly bleeding bump. "I broke his arm. I can deal with that for now." He whispered. He heard the voice groan as if disgusted.

"You are such a weak boy, you know that! It would be better to hear the bakamono's neck break." The voice growled.

Gaara chose to ignore the voice now, even though he knew it was going to just drone on. It did that sometimes when he tried to ignore it. But truth be told, he was very tempted to listen to the voice and break the brat's neck with his powers over sand. But then to think of seeing a very disappointed look on Jiraiya's face when he came home just to see Gaara behind bars for killing someone haunted him. He had never seen Jiraiya give him a disappointed look before but he had seen the look before.

Once not long ago when an older boy, already Shinobi, had called Gaara a bijuu. The Legendary Shinobi had yelled at the Shinobi that day, telling him that he better show the young boy some respect no matter how different or he was going to introduce him to a jutsu Gaara couldn't remember what it was. And because Jiraiya had cared for him so much, he couldn't bear to imagine seeing that look.

 

Later that evening, Gaara was making his way towards the hospital he practically lived at, though he didn't really see the point of going there. He didn't sleep. He mostly stayed up all night reading the Shinobi handbook that Jiraiya had given him. He had even given him a book on hand signals and everything he needed to be a ninja. That was another one of Gaara's goals in life. He wanted to be a Shinobi, a ninja to earn respect from people, and show them that he was not some weird looking boy. And he believed that he could earn the respect he deserved by becoming a ninja.

However, as Gaara approached the hospital he lived at, he froze in the middle of a step when he saw the boy whose arm he had broken and the boy's outraged father, who was a Shinobi. The father was talking rapidly, and angrily, to the Third Hokage and the Shinobi, Iruka about how Gaara had broken his son's arm and he demanded action for it.

"The boy is a monster, Hokage-sama! My son, Mitsu could have been killed by him! The bijuu needs to be destroyed!" The man said angrily.

The Hokage and Iruka both sighed shaking their heads, none of them noticing Gaara just yet. They were too focused on the father at the moment to even notice him. "Goyasuke, Gaara is only a child. He will be punished for his actions, but you must remember, accidents happen." Iruka spoke calmly. "I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt Mitsu so badly. They could have been playing and got careless….."

"Mitsu is not allowed to play with the monster, Iruka! No child in this village would ever play with that demon carrying…" Mitsu's father roared but he immediately cut off when the Third held up a hand for silence. His eyes had finally caught sight of Gaara, watching them gravely. The elderly man knew he had heard a little of what they said because of the look on his face. And because of his eyes being elsewhere, everyone looked over to see him. "Speak of the monster." Mitsu's father growled before putting a protective hand onto his son's shoulder. He turned back to the Hokage, frowning darkly. "I demand a harsh punishment, Lord Hokage. I will not allow some bijuu hurt my child, or anyone else's for that matter."

"Goyasuke, you can't demand anything. The decision is made by the Hokage, not you." Iruka spoke up in Gaara's defense.

Goyasuke just shot the Chunin a dark look, while his eyes narrowed coldly. "Says the one man who stands up for a trouble making bijuu who had caused more trouble than that one!" He jabbed his finger towards the young red head. "Everyone knows you let that little blonde headed monster run amuck!" He growled. 

Iruka suddenly looked very dangerous as he glared at the man before him. That was a very sensitive situation to approach, especially for the Chunin. "Leave Naruto out of this, Goya. He has nothing to do with this." He said dryly. Goyasuke just smirked coldly before he started to open his mouth to say something else before someone cut him off.

"Goya, call this kid and the other one a monster again, I'll summon Gamabunta to eat your ass and then shit you out." Growled a very familiar voice as the owner scooped a reproachful Gaara up and planted him onto his wide shoulder. Gaara blinked in surprised before looking down at the shaggy white head of Jiraiya. He immediately felt a smile curl on his face before he noticed how serious the Legendary ninja was looking. And that didn't look very good.

"Jiraiya, you're back earlier than I thought. I didn't know you would be back until later this month." The Third Hokage aid pleasantly.

Jiraiya just shrugged as he kept Gaara balanced on his shoulder and he shook his head at the same time. "Yeah, well, I heard that a bunch of rotten little brats have been causing my boy, here, some trouble and I thought it was best to come check up on 'em. Plus I have new information." He told him.

The Third just nodded as he took everything into thought before looking at Goyasuke. "Goya, Gaara will be punished as I see fit. But I will enlighten you that when Gaara broke his arm, Mitsu had started the fight first." He gave the man a sharp look when he tried to argue. "Before you go denying it, Goya, I will have you know that someone has seen Mitsu and his friends bullying Gaara earlier. And I can guarantee you that if you look at his head right now, you will find a lump on the side where one of Mitsu's friends threw a rock at him. If you need proof, go to the ANBU officer, Wolf. I'm sure he would enlighten you what had happened because he was the one who witnessed everything. And you know that Wolf would not make it up. He's too serious to do such a thing. Even for a little one like Gaara. Now go home and get some rest." The Third told Goyasuke. Goyasuke just growled before he turned and led his son away from everyone, while shooting Gaara a very dirty look.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, grabbed Gaara around the waist and lowered him from his shoulder. He didn't look too thrilled to hear that some brat had cracked Gaara's head open with a stone. And when he found the lump and the trickle of dried blood, he growled even more angrily. "Kuso. Little brats!" He growled as he pulled off a canteen of water from his belt. "I should bend them over my knee if they keep this up! Gaara doesn't do anything to those little weaklings and they always get violent with him!"

"Jiraiya," Iruka sighed as he folded his arms. "He still did wrong. He shouldn't have gotten so violent with the other boy."

The white haired Shinobi made a face but he knew it wasn't going to do any good in arguing with the younger Shinobi. He knew he had a point, not to mention his old sensai would agree with him. "Gaara….." He sighed as he took out a cloth and poured water onto it. Then shaking his head, he began to dab Gaara's head with it.

"I'm sorry." Gaara murmured, wincing a little from the pain in the lump.

Jiraiya shook his head as he cleaned off the blood then patted him on the head, as if trying to comfort him. The Third, however, just sighed and folded his arms behind his back. "Gaara, you know you're not allowed to use your power over sand against anyone. Not until I gave you permission." He told him, seeing Gaara slowly nod. "Either way, you will have to be punished for your actions."

"Master," Jiraiya interrupted before looking up into the old man's eyes. They seemed to have a silent conversation for a moment before both smiled at one another. Then the perverted Shinobi turned back to Gaara. "Gaara, you do need a little more discipline, you know. So therefore, as your Guardian, I hereby sentence you to the Ninja Academy."

That surprised Gaara when he heard that. His eyes lit up with surprise and he looked at Jiraiya as if asking if he was kidding. But the grin on the Shinobi's face told him that it wasn't a joke. If there was one thing that Gaara wanted more than anything in the Konoha Village, besides the respect from everyone, it was to become a ninja. Either that or find out who he really was and where he came from. But so far, no one knew where he had come from. At least no one had actually told him the truth. Gaara quickly looked up at the Third to see if it was true and the old man slowly nodded.

"Yes. I think that is a good idea. Gaara could use a little more discipline. And I think," He paused to look at Iruka. "That Naruto could use a little discipline as well. So therefore, he will be accepted into the Ninja Academy. Why don't you let him know, Iruka?" He told him. Iruka just smiled and nodded. "I will do that then." He bowed to the Third before turning and walking away.  
"Jiraiya." Gaara said quietly as he looked up at the big, white haired man with a look of wonder.

Jiraiya looked down at him before grinning. He knew what Gaara wanted to say. So he patted the young boy on the head. "You're welcome, kiddo." He then stood up and steered Gaara towards the hospital. "But I was telling the truth. You need to discipline yourself. With your outbursts, you can seriously hurt someone. That's why you're ready to enter the Ninja school. But you can't use your sand all the time, all right?" He told him, playfully stern. Gaara didn't smile but his eyes did. He just nodded as they entered the building and went to the room he called home. But as they arrived into the room he stayed in, Gaara became aware that his things were missing.

Even his favorite teddy bear, which he called Totoro. It was something that Jiraiya had given him when he was just only a baby.

"Totoro!" Gaara exclaimed as he began frantically looking around. "Totoro is missing!" He began running all around the room, looking through the drawers but as he searched, he saw Jiraiya smiling. "Jiraiya! It's not funny!" He muttered, clearly upset. Jiraiya just chuckled even more as he tried to wipe some tears from his eyes from laughing so hard. "I'm sorry." We should go out and look for Totoro. Maybe he went for a walk." He motioned for Gaara to follow him. Gaara just frowned but did so.

For nearly a half an hour, Gaara and Jiraiya wandered the streets of Konoha to search for "Totoro" and wasn't having much luck. Neither one spoke as they tried to find "him". As they went, Gaara caught Jiraiya snickering to himself and he couldn't help but wonder exactly what was so funny. But finally, near the Hokage Mountains, Gaara spotted the large brown teddy bear he called Totoro. It was sitting on a window sill of a small darkened apartment. Excited, Gaara raced over and snatched it right off the window sill to hug it tightly against him. "Totoro!" He said as he hugged it, then realized that there was a note pinned to its paw. "Hmm?" He hummed as he looked at it.

Welcome Home, Gaara

Confused, Gaara looked up at Jiraiya when he approached and stood next to the door. The Legendary Ninja just grinned at him before pushing the door open and motioned for him to follow. The boy just frowned but followed his hero inside. And to his surprise, all of his things were inside, with a few additional things. Like the futon sitting in the corner with fluffy blankets, a mini fridge and a bookshelf full of books and scrolls. And on a small table in the middle of the room, there was a kunai holster and a few ninja supplies.

"Well, it might be small, but it should do for you." Jiraiya said smiling as he looked around.

Gaara just looked around with awe before he turned to the Legend. He was definitely surprised by all of this. "This…..this is all for me?" He asked with surprise. Jiraiya just smiled as he turned his eyes onto the boy. He folded his arms and shifted his weight. "Yup. I figured that you were tired of living in that stuffy, old hospital. So I set you up with a small apartment. A nurse'll be coming to check on you now and then, of course.. But otherwise, you're free from some of those old biddies." He said grinning. Gaara looked up at him, with a very awed look. There were almost stars in his eyes for what Jiraiya had done for him. "Thank you, Jiraiya." He said quietly before throwing his arms around the white haired Shinobi.

Jiraiya just grinned at him as he ruffled Gaara's already messy red hair. "Good. 'Cause this place, even if it is small, cost me a bundle." He then went quiet for a moment as if there was something now bothering him. "There is something I do need to talk to you about though, Gaara. Something really important." He told him. He knew for a fact that the boy was not going to like this at all. He saw Gaara frown and he shook his head at him before he could say anything. "Hold up. Just listen. It deals with that voice you keep hearing in your head…."

________________________________________

A few days later, Gaara was walking through the doors to the Ninja Academy, dressed in his own style of ninja clothing. There was a serious look on his face as he moved into the building, while ignoring any looks he was getting form others. He didn't care what they said or thought about him. He had a promise to fulfill.

A few nights before, Jiraiya had finally told him that there was a bijuu residing inside his body, which was why some people saw him so different. Everyone but Jiraiya, that is. He told him that it was because of the demon, Shukaku, he had control over sand. He also told him that it would be awhile when they would see each other again.

"I have an important mission I have to go on, while doing some of my research and I probably won't be back for some time." Jiraiya told him. Gaara had immediately looked down to hear that. He didn't want Jiraiya to leave. The white haired ninja just smiled and patted him on the head. "Oh, don't make that face, kid. I'll be back. I promise. It all depends on how long my mission goes. By that time, you might graduate from the Ninja Academy. When you do, I'll come home to see you. So train really hard and be the best Shinobi!" The Legend told him. Gaara just nodded and promised that he would do just that.

So that's what he promised to do. He promised that he would become the best Shinobi, just for Jiraiya. He wouldn't let anything get in his way of becoming a true Shinobi.

"Hey! It's the freak!"

Gaara paused as he was making his way into the orientation class when he heard that voice. He knew it pretty well. And when he looked at them, he saw that it was them. It was the bullies from a few days ago who had picked on him. Even Mitsu was there. His arm was wrapped up in bandages and he looked rather angry that Gaara was even there. They all were looking disgusted as if he was some kind of bug.

"What are you doing here, Black Eyes?" Mitsu growled as he went up to face Gaara with his friends.

Gaara just gave them a cool look before he turned away and looked for a seat to sit at. His dark ringed eyes took everything in as he looked. There were several other kids there for the school. Some he knew from a distance. He didn't mingle with them. No one ever mingled with Gaara. And it was now he knew why. He finally found a seat in the back, where he would be able to see everything but not get too much attention.

However, as he entered the classroom, he was unaware that the bullies were following him in.

As he started towards the aisle, to get up to the chair where he had chosen to sit, he felt the demon inside his head starting to growl a warning and had heard a few girls gasp. Frowning, he started to turn around only to see a fist flying at his head. Gaara immediately prepared for the hit as he tried to step back.

WHAP!

A water balloon full of water came flying over Gaara's head and slammed into one of Mitsu's friends' face, breaking and sending water flying all over the bully and splashing onto Gaara. And as expected, laughter broke out all around the room. But above all of the laughter, there was just one that was the most obnoxious of them all. Gaara frowned as he turned around and looked to where the laugh was coming from and his eyes fell onto a very wild and wacky looking blonde kid with six whisker like markings on his face; three on each cheek. Now, the red haired boy knew a little about this one. He had seen him several times in the village and had heard a great deal about him. In fact, sometimes he was the biggest talk of the town. For the boy was the biggest trouble maker in the entire village. He always played pranks and was always running wild everywhere. While most called him the biggest idiot in Konoha, his name was actually Naruto Uzumaki.

And like Gaara, he was an orphan. But unlike Gaara, he was overly cheerful, very loud and always being rude.

"Naruto!" The soaked boy yelled at the top of his lungs. "What was that for?! What are you doing throwing water balloons at people?!"

Naruto just grinned as he wrapped his arms around his lungs and doubled over with hard laughter. "Ha, ha, ha, ha! You are SOOOOO soaking wet!" He just laughed before straightening. "I thought you smelled like dog shit, so I thought I'd help you smell better." He then had a very mischievous look in his eye. "Of course, the only problem was, I got that water out of the toilet."

That made several eyes go open wide before they realized that the boy did smell a little. Especially the soaked boy's. His nose crinkled before his face nearly exploded to hot red. "YOU ARE SO DEAD, UZUMAKI!" He roared before rushing at the blonde. Naruto just laughed hysterically as he raced right out of the classroom, leaving a room full of stunned people, including Gaara. But if the red head didn't know any better, it would seem that Naruto had just saved him from getting punched.

Later on, class had finally started. And without Naruto. He hadn't returned to the classroom just yet as Iruka entered the room. Gaara was seated at the top row, sitting by himself in a corner. He was well away from several of the others, for they had chose to sat far away from him. A few kept giving him uneasy glances. It was really starting to make him uncomfortable but he was doing his best to ignoring them. But when Iruka started taking roll, the attention on Gaara stopped. Everyone either raised their hand or said "Here" when their names were called, even Gaara, which brought a little attention onto him again but he did his best to ignoring them. His eyes just looked straight at the Instructor. But when Iruka came to Naruto's name, there was no answer.

"Naruto?" Iruka asked with irritation as he looked around the room and his face grew very moody when he saw that the blonde was nowhere in the room. With an annoyed sigh, he moved on.

Suddenly, the door slammed open before Iruka could actually began the introduction to the Ninja Academy and in came the spoken person. Naruto just grinned as he rushed into the room, waving a hand. "Hey there! Sorry I'm late, Iruka-sensai! I was getting chased by some dickheads!" He said in a rather loud voice. Everyone gave him a dull look, even Iruka before he started yelling at the blonde for being late. After a long lecture, Iruka ordered Naruto to take a seat.

The first thing Naruto did was look straight at an empty spot by a pretty pink haired girl that Gaara had seen once or twice while in the village. He remembered her name was Sakura, for he had watched her a few times during his years. In a way, he kind of liked her. She always seemed a little lonely because people teased her for having a wide forehead. She hardly played with any other girls. The only problem was, Gaara felt too shy to approach her. He was afraid that Sakura would treat him the way everyone else did. But then she started hanging out with the blonde she was sitting next to now, a girl named Ino. After that, she turned into some kind of snob. Gaara still watched her now and then but never spoke to her. And they completely ignored him. It was as if he never was there.

As Naruto tried to sit next to Sakura though, the pink haired girl quickly scooted down the bench so that she sat at the end so that he couldn't. She even dragged Ino over so that he couldn't sit between them either. So moodily, the blonde found a seat in the back row, next to Gaara, who had a bench all to himself. He just plopped down right next to the red head, not even sparing him a glance as his eyes just remained on Sakura. Gaara didn't look up at him once, but stared directly at the Shinobi Instructor.

As the day went on, Iruka had explained that they would be learning everything that makes a Shinobi. He started the class by handing out Shinobi Handbooks and then started to explain the basics about Chakra, which was something that Gaara already knew about. Through the entire day, though, he noticed that Naruto wasn't even paying attention. He caught sight of the blonde doodling in his Shinobi Handbook or writing down a list of pranks that he was going to pull on people.

The only thing Gaara did was roll his eyes before going on. 'If he doesn't wish to be serious about these lessons, then he doesn't want to be a real Shinobi.' The serious red head thought to himself. Then after that, Iruka started to teach them about Taijutsu, the hand to hand combat techniques.

It was like that over the next few days. They would read the Shinobi Handbook and go over the basics before going onto Taijutsu. And every time that happened, Gaara found that Naruto was actually looking forward to the action. He would bounce up and down on the bench while actually paying attention, in some sense. It was rather odd to Gaara as he observed the blonde. The slightly older boy was always so excited about things. So the red head began to wonder if Naruto even realized that Shinobi were suppose to control their emotions and their actions. Not to mention, be quiet and not so loud like Naruto was being.

As the week progressed, Naruto didn't even seem to realize that Gaara was sitting right by him for he never looked or talked to him. Gaara preferred it that way. He just wanted to be left alone while he was doing his studies. He would always eat by himself during the lunch hour and studied alone, while the others did their own things together. He was always alone. It didn't always feel nice having to watch the other students interact with one another and not let him join in though. Sometimes he just watched them with dull, but lonely eyes. No one ever seemed to notice.

But eventually, someone did.

 

"Hi!"

Gaara blinked right out of his thoughts when someone actually started talking to him. He hadn't been expecting anyone to speak to him. He was used to people just ignoring him. But when he looked up, he found Naruto actually acknowledging him. The blonde seemed a little surprised that Gaara was even there but he was grinning at him in his own cheesy way. He didn't even seem to notice the dull look the other boy gave him for interrupting his thoughts.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

The red head just looked at him dully before looking away.

"What's your name?" Naruto tried again, still grinning as he tilted his head so far so that he could still see the red head's face. With annoyance, Gaara turned his eyes back onto him and gave him a dark look. He was going to try and give him his driest glare, which usually un-nerved people. But it didn't work on Naruto, yet he stopped smiling. He actually looked like something had just hit him. It occurred to the blonde that this strange boy with black ringed eyes might not even be able to talk. His eyes grew wide as he drew back. "Oh! You're dumb, right?!"

Now Gaara glared harder at him, thinking that Naruto had just insulted him. He was actually used to insults but not from someone who was stupider than him.

Naruto just slouched as if that had been a yes. He looked rather pitiful as he looked at Gaara with sympathy. "Man! That's gotta suck! You can't talk and all! How in the hell are you going to be able to do any jutsu without talking?! Is that even possible?" He asked before his eyes went wide and he jumped up waving a hand. "Hey, Iruka-sensai!"

His outburst made several heads jerk around and look up at them with surprise. Gaara was definitely surprised when he realized what Naruto actually meant but felt uncomfortable when most of the other students looked up at him. Iruka just tilted his head and turned from writing on the chalk board. "What is it, Naruto?" He asked just a little moody for the interruption.

"Hey, hey! Can anyone perform jutsu without being able to talk?!" Naruto yelled across the room, even though the room wasn't that big. Iruka was definitely surprised at the question, as was a few of the students. They actually looked rather interested about hearing that one. They wondered if it was possible. Some were surprised that Naruto actually asked a sensible question. 

"Uh….some can, Naruto. Most jutsu are just made up by hand signals and not all needs a voice to perform techniques." The Shinobi Instructor said before tilting his head. "Why do you ask?"  
Naruto pointed at Gaara, who definitely look uneasy when more eyes went to him. "This guy can't talk! That's not fair if he can't become a Shinobi if he can't talk!" He exclaimed.

For a moment, several people looked surprised to hear that but then some rolled their eyes, for they were fully aware that Gaara could talk. Iruka was one of the surprised people but then his face softened when he saw Gaara look away with annoyance, with slightly pink tinted cheeks. He realized that he was embarrassed. He just shook his head and went back to writing on the board. Naruto sank back down in his seat a little confused at Iruka's reaction. He had been expecting the Shinobi just to look very surprised and then hurry over to try and help the strange red head beside him but he didn't. "Hey, that's not cool." He grumbled before turning to Gaara, who wouldn't meet his eyes. "Iruka-sensai usually helps people. Especially if they can't talk….."

"I can talk. I just choose not to." Gaara muttered quietly and bitterly.

Naruto looked rather surprised that he just spoke up but then grinned as he folded his arms behind his head. "Oh, good! So you can talk! I was worried! That wouldn't have been cool if you couldn't! It wouldn't have been fair to you that you couldn't become a ninja!"

Gaara just frowned as he looked around his shoulder again. He was confused of this kid's reaction. He tilted his head as he just continued to watch the grinning blonde. This kid really did not know who he was. So why not enlighten him? He was sure that once he told Naruto his name, the kid would brush him off like everyone else. "Gaara."

Naruto blinked in surprise as he looked at the red head. "Huh?"

"My name." Gaara said slowly. "My name is Gaara." He then turned away, expecting Naruto to just give him a look of disgust and stand up to go sit somewhere else. Usually the others did.  
However, Naruto grinned and clapped the red head on the back, surprising him. "Nice to meet you, Gaara! That's a real cool name!" He said brightly. Gaara looked at him with great surprise. That was definitely unexpected. He didn't know what he could say about that remark. "Um…" He muttered, feeling somewhat stupid. "Thanks."

"But don't you have a last name too?" Naruto asked tilting his head, still grinning.

Gaara frowned a little more but then shook his head. "No. I'm afraid I don't have any parents. I'm completely alone." He told him. And he wasn't too surprised when Naruto's smile vanished. That was expected.

But what wasn't expected was the fact that there was a look of understanding in the blonde's eyes. He just looked away for a second before trying to smile back at Gaara. "Yeah. Me too." He told him. Gaara glanced at him, once again surprised but then his face softened and they both shut up to listen to Iruka while he taught the lesson. It was amazing that someone was a little like him, Gaara though. And for once, someone wasn't treating him bad. The blonde was actually being very friendly towards him. This brought a very faint smile to Gaara's face.

'Yeah right.' He thought. 'Like we could be friends.'

But he was wrong.


	4. Chapter Four

Throughout Gaara's beginning years at the Ninja Academy, he had greatly underestimated Naruto Uzumaki. He had believed that they wouldn't get along after the first introductions, but he had been wrong. For Naruto kept on being friendly with him. He would talk to the red head as if they were best friends, even though he did most of the talking. He had also believed that they didn't have anything in common besides they were both orphans. He was wrong again when Naruto told him that he had never known his parents; that he was alone and there was only one person who cared about him. And that was Iruka.

This really did remind Gaara of himself.

After the first few weeks of knowing each other, Naruto began to call Gaara his best friend, even though the other boy didn't call him a friend at all. Instead, he would just sit there and be quiet, as always. But after a while, he began to consider Naruto as a friend. They stood up for one another against some of the bullies, worked together on class work and even trained together with their Taijutsu, or any jutsu for that matter. However, Gaara never even mentioned to Naruto about Shukaku. He didn't want to scare the poor kid off, though that poor kid was older than him by five months. He was sure that if Naruto did know about the demon that resided inside him, he would treat the red head the way everyone else did. So he kept his mouth shut.

However, Gaara also found out that Naruto loved to pull pranks more than anyone else. He always watched the blonde pull pranks on other people and then get into trouble about it later on. However, the red head never participated in any of Naruto's pranks. He sometimes told the blonde not to do it, but it didn't always work.

Throughout the years of training, Gaara also learned more jutsu, thanks to the demon inside him. The demon was practically teaching him Sand techniques when the red head didn't sleep at night. Only a few times did Gaara ever sleep. He found that only on the full moon he could sleep without having to fear that Shukaku would take over. During the full moon, the demon actually fell asleep and would not wake up until the moon was no longer full. It really pissed the monster off when Gaara decided to take advantage of that. But he could never do anything about it. Gaara also found himself not thinking about Jiraiya as much when he was around Naruto. Sure, it did get a little lonely when the Legendary Shinobi hadn't come back yet when he had promised but because of the wild blonde, it didn't get too lonely. The only time Gaara did get lonely around Naruto was when they watched other kids playing with their families. Both of them shared the same lonely look when they saw a father praise his son's every accomplishments. But together, the two friends tried to cope with it.

Gaara's personality didn't change that much even with Naruto around either. He was still a very quiet and distant boy from the other kids. He hardly spoke to anyone, even to Naruto. And when he did talk, he spoke in a very low voice. So therefore, Gaara was not very popular around the others. Especially when he showed that he had a lot of potential for a ninja. Some of the others were actually a little jealous of him. A few times, some of the boys tried to get Gaara to ditch the "Loser Ninja" and hang out with them instead. But the red head would only glare at them for insulting Naruto until they decided to go away.

There were three reasons why Gaara wasn't liked by other students, or at least that's what the other kids said.

One, he was way too different.  
Two, he was an orphan and he didn't have parents to teach him right or wrong.  
And three, He was friends with Naruto Uzumaki.

Finally, the last year of Ninja training had come up and Gaara was going to be taking the Shinobi Final exams with his class. He was now 13 years old, one of the youngest in the class. He was actually matched with a young girl named Hinata, whom Gaara had noticed that she was always staring at Naruto and blushing. So it was obvious that she had a crush on him. His eyes, in fact, were always on Sakura, who Naruto also liked. But he never told his blonde friend that. He knew Naruto might throw a fit. Gaara had become quite the Shinobi candidate after all his training. He now possessed several interesting techniques that dealt with his sand, which he carried everywhere he went inside a gourd he had taken from an old vegetable stand. To the other students, he looked rather odd carrying such a large gourd on his back but he never cared what they thought. If he didn't have his sand on him, he felt almost defenseless or empty. And no one dared to make any remarks otherwise they would be met by his dry stare, which they could have sworn they felt a very hot breeze blow around them, as if he was a living desert himself.

The day of the exams finally came up and Gaara had stayed up the entire night, of course. He spent the entire night reviewing his studies. He had gone over everything he could think of that he needed to know about being a Shinobi. But once the sun hit his window, he knew it was time to go to the Ninja Academy for the exams.

Gaara had grown a little taller over the years. He was slightly taller than Naruto now and his hair had grown a little longer. He still kept it short and untamed, like always. He had started to wear dark brown and black clothing with his gourd on his back. And of course, there was the sandals that everyone else wore. The only thing that didn't change was the dark circles around his eyes. They were only a little darker, almost black now. And that's what creeped out the other students most about him.

"Naruto!"

Gaara blinked out of his thoughts when he heard someone shouting his friend's name. He turned to see a few men chasing a laughing hysterically Naruto running towards him while carrying a large paint bucket and brush. Behind him, there were two men running after him, yelling threats they were going to do to the blonde. With a sigh, Gaara formed the right hand signals and he vanished in a cloud of sand. A second later, he grabbed Naruto by the back of his shirt and yanked him into a giant pile of sand and saw dust near a builder's compound. The two sat in silence in the sand while the two men ran right past before the red head pulled all of his sand back into his gourd.

"Hey! Thanks, Gaara!" The wacky blonde said cheerfully as they moved out of the pile of sawdust. "You really saved my ass back there!"

Gaara gave him a dry look as he folded his arms. He just wished that this kid could just stay out of trouble for once. "Naruto, what did you do this time?" He asked dryly. Grinning, Naruto pointed to behind him; the Hokage Mountains. "Check it out!" He said excitedly. Gaara turned around, looking dully before he let out a long sigh on what he saw. His blonde had painted on the faces of the four great Hokages. There were swirls all over some of their faces or swear words in Kanji. It just made the red head roll his eyes at what his friend had just done.

"Cool, huh?" Naruto asked grinning.

The young red head just shook his head as he looked at him but stopped when he saw someone standing behind Naruto, glaring down at him. He just continued to stare up at Iruka, who did not look amused at all. "Naruto." He said quietly. Naruto frowned as he noticed the look on his friend's face. "What? What's wrong…?"

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled at him.

Naruto jumped when he heard that voice and spun around, looking fearfully up at Iruka. He knew he was in it deep now. And so did Gaara. "Ah! Shit! It's Iruka-sensai!" The blonde yelped as he tried to hide the paint behind his back.

Almost an hour later, Gaara was sitting in his chair listening to Iruka yell at a forlorn Naruto, who was tied up and sitting on the floor in front of the entire class. The Chunin was lecturing him about the way he had just behaved and how he was going to be punished for disgracing the Honorable Hokages. Once the lecture was done, Iruka announced that the final exams were going to be taking place pretty soon and what it was. And to Naruto's disgust, it was on transformations and the clone jutsu. Gaara watched the poor blonde just slump to the ground, blubbering about how it was not fair. He knew for a fact that the transformation and clone jutsu were Naruto's weakest techniques. So this didn't look like it was going to end well.

And it didn't. Naruto failed the Final Exam.

Gaara was sitting off to the side while watching families talk to one another and congratulate their kids after the Graduation. The newly made Genin were showing off their new ninja headbands to their parents and friends to prove that they were now Shinobi. All but one has passed the exams. Even Gaara had passed the exam. His own ninja headband was laid out on his lap while he sat on a boulder as he was watching the families. He had a lonesome look in his eyes as he watched the happiness among the families. But then his eyes flickered over to where Naruto was sitting. He felt terrible that Naruto had been the only one who failed the exams. And the lonely and sad look in the blonde's eyes didn't help at all either.

"…..I heard that he didn't pass. I'm not surprise, stupid trouble maker."

Gaara's attention immediately was caught by a pair of older Shinobi. He saw them both also looking towards Naruto and it didn't surprise him that they were insulting his friend. They were a couple of the people who really despised the young boy. They were actually looking pleased that Naruto hadn't passed.

"It's a good thing too. Konoha would be turned into a laughing stock if we had a ninja like that monster become a Shinobi." The other snickered.

With an angry scowl, Gaara summoned some of his sand from his gourd and sent it flying right into the young men's faces. Both flinched and began rubbing at their eyes. "Argh! I got sand in my eyes!" One whined. The other nodded as he was rubbing his own eyes fiercely. "Yeah! Me too!"

Then Gaara went off to find Naruto, since the blonde had taken off already. He found his usually energetic and wacky blonde friend trudging home with his hands stuffed into his pockets and he was looking down at the ground with a grim look. He was definitely not happy with failing the exams. But as Gaara approached him, he realized that he was there. So Naruto looked up at the red head. "Oh! Hey, Gaara." He said, trying to sound cheerful. His eyes then flickered down to the forehead protector in Gaara's hands and he tried to grin. "Oh, yeah! You passed, didn't ya? Congrats, pal! I knew you could do it!"

But Gaara was not fooled at all. He could tell that Naruto was really upset. He saw the sorrow in his eyes. Glancing down at the forehead protector in his hand, he gave a quick nod before holding it out to Naruto, who looked rather surprised. "Here." He said quietly.

"Huh?" Naruto asked dumbfounded. "But…..that's yours, Gaara."

Gaara only shook his head as he continued to hold out the forehead protector to the blonde. "Not anymore. I'm giving it to you, Naruto. You wanted one, didn't you?" He asked tilting his head.

Naruto just frowned as he continued to stare at his red head friend. "But…..I didn't graduate."

"So? I'm giving it to you. So take it." Gaara answered. But Naruto just stared at him dumbly and he sighed with a scowl. "Naruto, you are a Shinobi, no matter what anyone says." His teal colored eyes dropped down to the forehead protector in his hand. "The ninja headband is only a symbol. It does not make you the ninja. You make yourself the ninja."

For a long moment, Naruto just stared wide eyed at Gaara before his face softened. He realized that his friend was only trying to make him feel better. And it was working at some extent. But he couldn't accept Gaara's forehead protector. "Nah. It's okay, pal. You keep it. If I'm going to be Hokage someday, I have to earn my forehead protector. That's my ninja way, after all!" He said grinning at Gaara.

"….." Gaara thought out loud before he nodded as his own face softened a little. "Very well then. I will try and help you become better, Naruto. If you want, I can help you with the transformations and clones." He told him quietly. Naruto just grinned and shrugged at the same time. "Okay! Sounds great!" Then the two of them went home to get some rest. Gaara knew for a fact that Naruto needed some time alone to think.

However, if only he knew what would have happened.

Later in the evening, Gaara was going through all of his supplies and reading his Shinobi handbook to make sure he had everything that he needed. He was also thinking about what was going to happen from then on. He had heard that he might be put on a team of some kind, and maybe with two of the other graduates. It just made him a little moody to think that he wouldn't be able to be on the same team as Naruto. His two team mates would probably not even understand him.

As Gaara went on with colleting some of his ninja supplies, he heard loud voices outside his apartment. Someone was shouting, and they didn't sound very happy. A few seconds later, someone knocked on his door. Frowning, Gaara went over to answer it.

It was his sensai, Iruka.

"Gaara!" Iruka gasped a little out of breath. "Sorry if I woke you up!" He paused when Gaara raised an eyebrow at him and gave him a look as if he was crazy. "Oh! That's right. You don't sleep. Anyway, Naruto is not here is he? I have got to find him!"

By the urgency in Iruka's voice, Gaara could tell that something was seriously wrong. He didn't like to think that something might have happened to his blonde friend. "No. I have not seen since the graduation, sensai. Why? Is there something wrong?" He asked in his quiet and calm way. Iruka opened his mouth to say before stopping himself. He looked as if he just thought of something very important. So he just motioned for Gaara to follow him. Gaara just nodded before he turned around and held out his hand for his gourd. The sand swirled out of the giant vegetable and carried it right to him. A moment later, he was running along the rooftops with Iruka. "What's happened? Is Naruto in trouble?"

Iruka scowled at the very word, trouble. "Oh. He's in trouble all right. That little brat has stolen the…..um, a very valuable scroll from the Third Hokage. Something he is NOT allowed to have. So he's in a lot of trouble." He glanced over at the red head beside him. "I'm only bringing you along because you are Naruto's best friend. You can talk some sense into that kid's thick head."

Gaara just frowned before looking forward again, his eyes looking off into the darkness. 'Damn you, Naruto, you blockhead. I told you I would help you. Why'd you go and steal a scroll?' He thought.

Both Gaara and his sensai quickly arrived into the forest, where they later on decided to split up and search for Naruto. Just to cover more ground. Gaara was thinking about what could have happened and what would happen if Naruto did get caught. It was no doubt he was seriously in a lot of trouble. Especially when he stole from the Third Hokage. He wondered if Naruto would be severely punished for that crime. And he knew if that if that was the case, he would try to protect his blonde friend.

Suddenly, Gaara heard the demon inside his head growl a warning, not that he had to. He heard a twig snap loudly and he became very aware that someone was running towards him. He caught a hold of a branch to stop himself from running through the tree tops and jerked around to see Naruto running towards him. The blonde was hugging a giant scroll in his arms and his face was pressed against it but by the looks of it, he was crying. He didn't even notice Gaara at all until he was nearly right on top of him. Gaara couldn't even stop the collision himself. He didn't really have time when Naruto ran smack dab right into him, causing them to just fall right out of the tree and hit the ground with groans or yelps of pain.

"Ow!" Naruto cried out as he quickly climbed to his knees, looking around with fear before noticing Gaara. "Gaara?!"

Gaara just scowled at him as he rubbed his head where Naruto's own head slammed into his. He just knew that he was going to have a headache after that. "Naruto, you blockhead." He insulted his blonde friend quietly. But before he could say anything else, he stopped himself. He noticed exactly how upset Naruto looked. "Naruto, what's wrong?"

Naruto looked at him with tear-filled eyes and his bottom lip trembled violently. "I-I-Iruka-sensai! He's…he's hurt really bad! Mizuki-baka! He tricked me to stealing this scroll from the Third Hokage!" He blubbered loudly. "He wanted me to steal it so he could kill me and steal it for himself! And…when he tried, Iruka-sensai saved me! And then…!" But Gaara quickly cut him off when there was a loud crash. He threw himself at Naruto, covering the blonde's mouth and pressing them both against the tree. Both looked wide eyed around the tree for the crash and found exactly what it was.

It was Iruka and Mizuki.

They were talking to one another about how Mizuki was going to kill Naruto when he got his hands on him and then the villainous ninja started talking about how Iruka should hate Naruto because the nine-tailed fox had killed Iruka's family. He announced that Naruto was a monster and how he possessed the vicious nine-tailed fox, Kyuubi. Gaara grew very still when he heard that. He even looked at the pained look on Naruto's face. The red head knew that out everyone in the village, Iruka had been the only one to care for Naruto the most. But did he really hate him now?

"The demon fox would do that. But Naruto is different!" said Iruka angrily, catching the two hidden boys and the wicked ninja before him by surprise. "He is...I've acknowledged him as one of my excellent students. He may not be the hardest worker and he's clumsy so nobody accepts him. He already knows what it is to feel pain in your heart." Iruka's eyes darkened. "He isn't the demon fox anymore. He is a member of the Hidden Leaf Village...he's Naruto Uzumaki."

"Hmm." Mizuki hummed with annoyance. "It doesn't really matter now. Once I kill you, I'll kill the brat." But he stopped Iruka then started chuckling darkly as he lowered his head into his chin. "What is so funny?"

Iruka shook his head as he continued to give Mizuki a cool but bemused look, though there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. "If you hurt Naruto, you will have to deal with Gaara. And he is not as nice as I am. He will kill you." He warned him. Mizuki snorted with harsh laughter before shaking his head as he pulled out a large shruiken and started spinning it. "That foreign brat? Yeah right. He's a quiet, weak little freak who plays around with sand. I'll kill him too if he gets in my way. Not that he's even worth my time." He sneered before throwing the shruiken to finish Iruka off.

Suddenly, there was a flash of gold and a large sand-made hand lashed out, catching the shruiken from reaching Iruka. It stunned Mizuki either way. But he was even more stunned when something hit him hard from behind as an orange flash went over his head. The orange object jumped up onto the sandy hand before turning to glare at the rogue ninja.

"Don't touch Iruka-sensai again! I will kill you!" Naruto snarled.

"Correction," spoke Gaara as he stepped out from behind the tree and gave Mizuki a very dark look. "YOU aren't worth my time."

Mizuki's head jerked back and forth between Naruto and Gaara, stunned that they were even there. But he was more alarmed to see how dangerous they were looking. They were glaring kunai at the rogue ninja, almost as if they were trying to kill him by looking at him. Gaara then motioned towards his sandy hand and it dropped the shruiken right before an astonished Iruka. He remained standing right where he was though. Naruto turned around to face Mizuki completely, who was definitely angry about getting punched from the wacky blonde. "You little punks! How about I knock your heads off! I'll kill you both!" He snarled. Naruto just glared at him before he quickly slammed his hands together into a hand sign. "Try it! I'll give you more pain a thousand times over!" He snapped right back. Gaara slowly nodded as he dipped his head down, looking even more dangerous than ever. His eyes even started to darken, turning almost deep blue. "And I will crush you with the weight of a sandy desert." He said in a very cold tone.

"Go ahead, demon fox!" Mizuki snarled at Naruto before giving Gaara a rude sign. "And as if sand is going to do anything to me besides get in my eyes! I can take you on with one shot and blindfolded you little shit!"

Naruto and Gaara quickly glanced at one another before they nodded. They were going to do this together. "Jutsu!" The blonde yelled while his friend began to spread out his sand behind him, making them look almost like giant wings. There was a sudden explosion of smoke all around the forest clearing, making it very hard to see. But once the smoke cleared, all three ninja; Mizuki, Iruka and even Gaara was stunned to see what was all around them. Almost a hundred Shadow clones of Naruto. They were up in the trees, standing on Gaara's sand, and standing around Mizuki, while three were next to Iruka, who was looking at them with wide eyes.

"Wha-?!" Mizuki gasped as he spun around to look at all of them. He couldn't believe his eyes.

And neither could Gaara. The young red head was looking around at all of the blondes standing near him with amazement. He couldn't believe it. These were actual solid Shadow Clones, which had been Naruto's biggest weakness. But by the looks of it, it had become his best jutsu.

"What's wrong?" All of the Naruto clones said, grinning madly. "Weren't you going to kill me with one shot?"

Mizuki only trembled as he backed away a step, nearly spinning around in circles when all hundred Narutos spoke at the same time. It was pretty creepy now that Gaara thought about it. All of the Narutos grinned as they began cracking their knuckles and taking a step towards the rogue ninja. "Well then," Said the real Naruto, who was still right where he had been. "I'll start things off!" And then all of the Narutos lunged forward while Gaara and Iruka just sat back and watched as they began pounding the life out of Mizuki.

Five minutes later.

"Heh." Naruto said sheepishly, several moments after he finished. "I went a little too far." He said as he poked the twitching and bloody Mizuki. Now it was only just him, for he had called off all of his Shadow clones and he was still looking at the nearly lifeless rogue ninja. Gaara just smirked to himself as he called all of his sand back into his gourde and moved over to stand next to his loud mouthed friend. He was definitely impressed. A whole night and Naruto had mastered the Shadow Clone jutsu, which he knew was a Hokage level jutsu. Not even he could do it. His clones were more like Sand Clones.

Even Iruka was impressed because he was smirking as he sat against the tree. He was shaking his head as he watched Naruto with pure amazement. "Naruto, come here. There's something I want to give you." He told the blonde, who looked at him with a frown but then walked over.

A few moments later, the blonde was wearing a Shinobi forehead protector on his head. Both Iruka and Gaara was standing before the dumbfounded blonde, smiling or just looking amused while the blonde was fingering the metal plate in the center of his forehead.

"Congratulations…" Iruka paused. "….on graduating."

Slowly the revelation hit Naruto and when it did his eyes grew wide and a large grin spread out on his face. It took him another few seconds before he exploded with cheers. And he even threw himself at Iruka when the Chunin announced that he would treat both Naruto and Gaara to some ramen. The red head only shook his head as there was a hint of a smile on his face. This was definitely one of the best days in his life. He and his best friend were now Shinobi.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter 5.

Almost three days passed since they graduated from the Ninja Academy. There was no classes for the graduates, just a day for picture taking for their new ninja records. Of course, Naruto had decided to goof around about it. He was, after all, the number one knucklehead ninja. Gaara also heard that the entire class was going to be split up into three man teams. He could only hope that he was on the same team as Naruto. He swore that he would demand it if he had to. But he wouldn't do anything without Naruto if he could help it.

Finally, everyone was called back to the Ninja Academy for the final stages of graduating. Gaara went straight to the Academy as soon as he was ready for the day. He met up with Naruto along the way and they walked together. Naruto was pretty much just puffing out his chest and keeping his head high so that the sunlight would catch the metal piece of his forehead protector. Gaara only glanced at Naruto before rolling his eyes and smirking to himself. But as soon as they got to the classroom, there was only one place to sit and Naruto was not happy at all. It was by a boy that he really did not like.

Sasuke Uchiha.

Now, Gaara didn't really mind Sasuke as much as he did with everyone else. But that was probably because the boy never insulted him or anything. In fact, he hardly ever acknowledged him. And when he did, all the raven haired boy did was give him a nod, which he usually returned.

Naruto, on the other hand, absolutely hated him.

As Gaara and Naruto went over to sit down by the boy, Sasuke glanced up at them, mostly looking at Gaara. As expected, he just nodded to the red head, who nodded right back before sitting down. Then they just sat in silence until someone began to badger Naruto about being there and not graduating until Naruto completely told him to look at his forehead.

"Excuse me. Let me through." Came a very familiar voice that definitely caught both Gaara and Naruto's attention.

The two Genin looked up to see the pretty face of Sakura Haruno. The pink haired girl was smiling at them sweetly, though Gaara immediately could tell that it wasn't them that she was smiling at. He knew it had to be Sasuke. Naruto, however, thought she had been looking at him. He began to grin stupidly and tried to nudge Gaara as if asking him to move over towards Sasuke so that Sakura could sit between them.

That is until Sakura caught on and she scowled at him, turning rather nasty. "Hey, Naruto! Move your ass! I want to sit on the other side of you!" She snapped before roughly shoving him against the desk and trying to move around him. She, however, froze when she came to Gaara, who gave her a cool and daring look as if to shove him. But she just drew back a little. He was definitely one that she did not try to push around at all. "Oh….um…..Hey, Gaara. Do you…..do you mind moving over so that I can sit by Sasuke-kun?"

Gaara just continued to give her a dry stare before he nodded and moved to the side so that she could sit by Sasuke, who didn't even look at them but just stared forward. He didn't feel like arguing with her, not that he could. Though he remained cool and collected on the outside, he was feeling a little nervous on the inside.

As Sakura sat down, Gaara began to move out from behind the desk, which was normally a three man seat. He knew there wouldn't be any room for him to sit down. So he would go lean against the wall instead. However as he was starting to wedge himself past Naruto, Sakura captured his hand, holding him back.

"Uh….! You can still sit by me!" Sakura said as her eyes flickered past him at Naruto.

Gaara immediately knew that she really didn't want to sit by Naruto. In a way, he wouldn't have minded on just sitting right next to her but seeing the look on Naruto's face, he decided not to. He just pulled his hand free and he shook his head. "No thanks." He said with a look of amusement before he stepped up onto the desk. Without another word, he walked across the desk top, past Sasuke and went over to the wall, while ignoring the disapproving murmurs. He caught a glance of Sakura pouting when Naruto grinned and moved a little closer to her, giving the red head a look of thanks.

A few moments later, Iruka showed up and began the class with congratulating the class again about passing their Final Exams. He beamed as he looked all of the Genin over, though his eyes paused on Gaara standing by the wall. With a shrug, he went on with explaining that the entire class was now going to be set up in a three man team, just like Gaara had heard before. He also explained that once they were in their new groups, they would be handed to a Shinobi Elite, a Jounin for further training.

Then after that was said, Iruka began to read out names and placing the new Genin into their new teams. Slowly, one by one, the Genin were paired up in threes. But as the pairings were going, Gaara began to realize something. The numbers of each student were uneven. There was going to be only one person who would not get into a team, unless one of the teams were going to be a four man team. But he highly doubt that would happen.

As the names went on, Gaara's name had yet to be called. Naruto's name was finally called and he was put on Team 7, with Sakura and Sasuke. That came as a blow for both Gaara and Naruto. They had both wanted to be on the same team. Though partly, the blonde didn't mind being on the same team as Sakura, who was happy that she was on Sasuke's team.

But when Iruka finished the team pair ups without even saying Gaara's name, Gaara stood there slightly dumbfounded. And he was not the only one. Quite a few of the other Genin glanced over at him while Naruto's jaw nearly hit the desk.

"HEY!" He exclaimed jumping to his feet. "What about Gaara?! Doesn't he get to be on a team too?!"

Iruka sighed with frustration and rubbed his chin. "Naruto, don't worry about Gaara. He'll be taken care of." He told him. Naruto didn't seem to hear that. Instead, he jabbed a finger towards Sasuke, who looked annoyed now. "Iruka-sensai! Why does an outstanding ninja like me have to be on the same team as that bum?! Can't we trade Gaara for him?!" He yelled.

Again, Iruka sighed and shook his head. "Naruto, Sasuke's grades were one of the best in the entire class. You, on the other hand, was the last. We have to balance the team. Besides, the decision has been made. It can't be changed." His eyes flickered over to Gaara, who was actually popping a vein in his forehead. He was definitely not happy about this either. "Don't worry about Gaara, Naruto. He will be placed on a team. Now we will break for lunch and after, you'll all get to meet your new Jounin sensai. Class dismissed." He told the blonde.

Everyone stood up and started leaving the classroom for lunch, while Naruto went over to Gaara. "Man! This is so not fair! I wanted to be on your team! And who's team are you going to be on, anyway?! They're probably going to be mean to you!" He grumbled as they started towards the door.

Gaara just shook his head, not happy either with the situation but he wasn't over reacting like Naruto was. "Don't worry about it, Naruto. I'll be fine."

Naruto continued to pout, his arms folded and his face twisted in misery but then he paused with Gaara when Iruka stepped right in front of them. The Chunin was looking right at Gaara, who was now glaring at him. "Gaara, I actually need to talk to you. It's about your placement on a team." He glanced over at Naruto now. "Naruto, you can go on ahead. This is a private matter I need to talk to Gaara about." He told him.

The blonde looked like he just wanted to blow up but Gaara tilted his head towards him, catching his attention. The red head just nodded for him to go on. So, with only a glance over his shoulder, Naruto left the room.

Iruka paused for a long moment, as if waiting for Naruto to just leave and not try to eavesdrop before he walked over to the door and looked out, just to be sure. Once he was sure that Naruto was gone, he turned back to Gaara, giving him a smile. "Don't worry, Gaara. You really are going to be placed on a team. It's just that someone wanted to talk to you first. He'll be here in a while with the Third Hokage."

"What team am I going to be placed on then?" Gaara asked quietly.

Iruka just shook his head as he scratched the back of his neck. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. Only the Third Hokage knows which Jounin are taking which team. All I know is that you are going to be trained by a Jounin who we believe can really help you." He then groaned as he glanced at the clock. "But he's sure late. He should have been here an hour ago to meet you right after class broke for lunch."

Just then, the door slid open and someone entered the room. Iruka immediately looked at who it was while Gaara was looking the opposite way. The red head was thinking to himself about who would be training him. He wondered if it was a highly ranked ninja, maybe Jiraiya. "Oh, it's you. It's about time. You're late." Iruka said moodily.

"Hmm? Well, I would have been here a while ago but I tripped on my shoelaces and fell flat on my face." Came a calm but humoristic reply.

That caught Gaara's attention. The voice sounded quite familiar, as if he had heard it once before. He turned to see who it was, pausing when he saw Iruka sweatdrop and looking not amused with the reply he just gotten from the new arrival. But then Gaara's attention went on until he spied the man.

It was a silver white haired ninja who wore the clothing of a Jounin, yet his forehead protector was pulled over his left eye, almost like an eye patch. And as Gaara looked down, he found that the ninja was NOT wearing shoes with laces. He was wearing sandals. That definitely made the red head sweat drop, which was not easily done in his case.

This Jounin, an Elite Shinobi, had just told Iruka a very lame excuse.

"Jeeze, I don't even see why I bothered to stay." Iruka grumbled, now rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. He then looked back at the door as two more arrivals came through the door. It was the Third Hokage, and much to Gaara's surprise, Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya?" Gaara asked, clearly surprised.

The white haired Legendary Ninja grinned down at him as he moved over and stood over the boy. "Hey there, Gaara! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Gaara almost smiled but kept himself from doing it as he just nodded. He felt as if there was a lump in his throat. It HAD been a long time since he last seen Jiraiya. The last time hand been almost five years ago, if he remembered right. He had missed the Toad Sage very much over the years. And he really wanted to just jump at him and give him a hug like he used to. But instead, he just bowed to Jiraiya in the greatest respect. "Senpai." He murmured. It was a Shinobi rule to control one's emotions anyway. It was time to show his great friend that he was now Shinobi.

Jiraiya just snorted as he watched the boy and waited till he was standing up straight again before he grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a bear hug. "You've sure grown, Gaara! And you're a Shinobi now! That's great! I knew you could do it!" He boomed cheerfully.

Gaara couldn't stop his mouth from curving upward a little as he pulled away and looked up at the Sanin. "I had a little help from Iruka-sensai and…" He cut himself off before he could say Shukaku. He didn't know if the silver-white haired Jounin knew about his little problem.

However, as if the Third Hokage had read his mind, he took his pipe out of his mouth and nodded to the young Genin. "Kakashi, here, knows about Shukaku, Gaara. So does Iruka. In fact, they were both apart of the group that found you at the river." He announced, surprising Gaara. Gaara clearly had no idea what he was talking about. He had not been aware about him being found at any river. Now that he thought about it, exactly how did he come to the Hidden Village of the Leaves? He remembered that Jiraiya said that he had found him but he had not been specific.

"River?" Gaara found himself ask.

The Third Hokage slowly nodded as he turned his aged eyes onto Jiraiya, who was now looking rather serious. They both seemed to be thinking the same thing as they glanced at one another. "Jiraiya, it is now time to reveal to Gaara exactly how he came to be in this place. And if you think he is ready, tell him everything."

Jiraiya only nodded as he placed his big hand onto Gaara's shoulder and started to steer him towards the door. "All right then, sir. Come on, Gaara." Let's get something to eat. And then I'll take you somewhere special so we can talk." He told him. Gaara followed while thinking, what in the world were they talking about? What did the Third Hokage mean by it was time to reveal his past? Did Jiraiya know who he really was? Who his parents were? Gaara paused as he was leaving to look back at the Jounin, Kakashi, who was watching him closely. That was another thing. Who was Kakashi and why was he even there?

It was a while later before Jiraiya took Gaara outside the Konoha Village gates. They were carrying lunch boxes into the forest, so they were going to eat out in the forest. To Gaara, it seemed like they were going on a little hike. For Jiraiya was leading him further away from Konoha until they finally reached a wide river with a waterfall downstream. Then together, they sat down and began to eat rice balls and beef teriyaki. They didn't speak for a long time, though Gaara kept giving Jiraiya questionable looks. He wondered if the white haired ninja was going to begin explaining.

And eventually, Jiraiya finally did.

"This is where we found you, Gaara." Jiraiya said right out of the blue while Gaara was eating a rice ball. His eyes flickered downward at the young boy, who was looking at him curiously. "I saw some kind of broken raft out there, carrying you on the water and I pulled you out before you could go over the falls." He threw his thumb over his shoulder at the waterfall. He then grinned down at Gaara. "You were such a cute kid, you know that? I totally fell in love with you when I saw ya." He said before bellowing in laughter when Gaara blushed hot red from embarrassment.

"Quit it, Jiraiya." The boy scowled.

Jiraiya continued to chuckle as he watched the blush on Gaara's face start to fade away. He went quiet for a moment before growing serious again. "I and a bunch of other ninja, including Kakashi Hatake all wondered who would put a baby like you on a river. We just puzzled over it. Maybe you could guess."

Gaara looked away, somewhat bitterly. "To kill me because of Shukaku?" He asked, dryly.

Jiraiya slowly nodded as he looked thoughtfully down at the boy. "That's what I thought too, at first. But truth was, that wasn't it. Someone was actually trying to save you." That surprised Gaara. But the Sanin shook his head as he stood up after finishing his lunch. "Come with me, kid. I think I've got to show you something."

So Gaara followed.

Neither one spoke to one another as they walked on. Jiraiya didn't even look at the red head as he stepped over foliage. Gaara kept looking up at him but didn't say anything. He just wondered where his old friend was taking him. But finally, they came to a clearing. And as soon as they stepped into it, a feeling washed over Gaara, making him freeze, other than just looking around.

He knew this place, but from where?

"This…place…..I know it." Gaara said quietly as he continued to look around. He glanced up at Jiraiya when he nodded, still looking very grave. "Jiraiya?"

The Sanin just looked away, towards a large mound. Without a word, he walked over to it and began clearing the vegetation off it until a large pile of rocks was revealed, with a larger one with writing.

It said: Gaara's Mother.

That made Gaara freeze when he saw it, his eyes growing wide. He wasn't sure if this was a joke or not. But was that…was he THAT Gaara? Could this be…his mother? "Jiraiya…" He said uneasily before looking at his old friend.

"I didn't expect you to remember this place, Gaara. You were only a baby when you were last here. But this is where your mother was killed, bringing you to the Fire Country." The Legendary Sanin said as he looked down at the grave. But he paused to look over at the surprised look on Gaara's face. "I don't know exactly why she was bring you here but I am trying to find out. I'm sorry I had to tell you this now, but you needed to know. And I would have told you a long time ago, but you were not ready to hear it. If I had, it would have really messed you up. You would not be the kid you are now."

"…..do you…..do you know….who I really am?" Gaara asked in a very quiet tone.

Jiraiya looked at him and sat there in silence for a long time. He was going to pick his words carefully before he said anything. But then he slowly nodded. "I know a little. I'm still learning more and I would tell you more but that look on your face is telling me that you're not ready to know everything. You understand, right?" He asked the boy. Gaara was quiet for a minute before he slowly nodded. He did understand. He knew that if Jiraiya told him everything now, he probably wouldn't be able to do his Shinobi duties properly because it would bother him. So he would not ask until the Legend told him. "Thank you, Jiraiya. For telling me and showing me my mother." He murmured.

The white haired Shinobi just gave him a look of sympathy but he nodded. "No problem, kid." He paused before deciding to change the subject. "You're probably wondering what team you're going to be placed on, aren't you?"

That did seem to distract Gaara now. He looked up at him with surprise but then he nodded. "Yes. Iruka-sensai didn't place me on a team. I wanted to be on the same team as Naruto. But it doesn't look like that will happen." He tilted his head to the side. "Are you going to be my new sensai, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya just smiled as he stood up and they both began to walk back towards the village. He knew that it had been hard on Gaara to find out that his mother was dead but at least he wasn't thinking about it entirely now. "Sorry, kiddo. You're given to Jounin when you become a Genin, remember? And I'm a Sanin. Plus I have to do a lot of wandering, gathering information for the village. So it ain't me. But I do know who's going to take you. He's a really strict teacher but he's a real good man. And you'll get along with his students all right. I know you will." He then made a face. "You'll just have to worry about some of his teaching techniques though. He might seem careless and lazy at first but his lessons can be a little harsh. And he's always late."

Gaara gave him a dry look, already getting the idea of who his new sensai was going to be. "It's that Kakashi guy, isn't it?" He asked unimpressed.

Jiraiya immediately boomed with laughter, already getting the idea that Gaara had not been impressed with the Jounin he had met earlier. He just reached over and ruffled the red head's hair, much to his protests. "Don't look down on that one, Gaara. Kakashi might always be late and come up with lame excuses about why he's late. But he's a real brilliant Shinobi. He was once my student's student. He joined the Ninja Academy when he was six years old, which is pretty rare and he became a Jounin at age 13. So he's really a genius." He grinned when Gaara was starting to look at him with wonder. "Kakashi might seem much but he is one of the best Elites we have in the entire village. Oh, by the way, tonight when you get to meet him with your other team mates, he's going to tell you not to eat breakfast tomorrow for training. I shouldn't be telling you this but don't listen to him. You can but make sure you have some food with you in that gourde of yours. You'll see what I mean tomorrow."

Gaara just stared up at him with curiosity but he slowly nodded. He would take the white haired ninja's word for it any time. But he still wondered why.

Finally they returned to the village and met up with the Hokage. The Kakashi fellow had taken off before they even did so he wasn't around. It was also time for Gaara to return to the Ninja Academy to meet his new sensai, which he figured that was where Kakashi went. So receiving a word of good luck from the Hokage and Jiraiya, Gaara went back to the Ninja Academy.

When he got there, there were still a few teams still there, including Team 7. Naruto greeted Gaara with a forced smile and then they sat near each other as they waited. But slowly the number was reduced to four, with Gaara and Team 7. They were the last ones and their sensai was late by two hours. Naruto began to look out in the hallway, grumbling about their new sensai. It was starting to annoy the red head too. He couldn't believe this Kakashi guy. Why did he have to be so late? And what about Naruto's new Jounin Instructor? Why was he late?

And that's when Gaara was hit with an idea. If his sensai was late, and so was Team 7's, was it a coincidence or was it possible that…..their sensai was…

"Naruto! What are you doing?!" Sakura's high pitched voice broke into the red head's thoughts. Gaara blinked and looked over to see Naruto now standing on a chair and placing an eraser between the door and frame. He was setting up a trap for the new sensai. This made Gaara sigh and shake his head as he stood up and folded his arms. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

Naruto jumped down from the chair while giggling to himself and rubbing his hands together as he just pushed the chair out of the way. "If our sensai decides to be late, he deserves falling for this trap."

"Heh." Came Sasuke's reply as he shook his head and looked forward again. "How lame. An Elite Shinobi is not going to fall for such a trap." He earned a very annoyed look from Naruto. Gaara silently agree against his friend though. He knew that Sasuke had a point. There was no way that the Jounin would fall….

Just then the door slid open and the silver white head of Kakashi Hatake entered the room, only to have the eraser fall right on top of his head and making him blink in surprise. That made all three; Gaara, Sasuke and Sakura blink in surprise that the man actually fell for the trap, while Naruto burst into hysterical laughter while pointing at the Jounin. Sakura immediately began to yell at him and try to suck up to the man, begging for forgivence on Naruto's behalf.

Gaara just sweat dropped for the second time that day just because of this man. "This is who is going to train me?" He muttered dryly.

The others had heard that and Naruto stopped laughing. "Huh? So this isn't our Sensai? Awww!" he whined as his shoulders slumped. Even Sakura looked irritated to think that this man wasn't their sensai either while Sasuke just scowled. The Jounin, Kakashi just straightened and looked the four over with an amused look in his one revealed eye. "Actually I am." He announced, surprising the three and Gaara. "I will be taking all FOUR of you." He then chuckled when all four looked surprised, even Sasuke. "What, surprised? I guess they didn't tell you. Because no one else wanted Gaara, he was passed on to me. I could have refused of course, but let's just say that the Third Hokage thought it was better for me to take him. And judging you by first impression, I hate you already." He told them. Both Naruto and Sakura immediately began to whine while the other two, glancing at one another, didn't care.

Not long after, the new four man team, Team 7 were sitting outside under the watchful eyes of the Four Hokages made out of stone. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were sitting down on the steps before Kakashi, while Gaara stood behind them, against a wall. His large gourde was resting on the ground beside him.

"Well then, since we will be working together, why don't you introduce yourselves. Tell me, who are you, what are your dreams, your desires and your hobbies. And what do you want most?" Kakashi asked with amusement.

All four looked at one another, though the red head looked very annoyed by the task. He really didn't want to do this. Especially telling Sasuke and Sakura about himself. And this Jounin really didn't show a good impression himself. "Why don't you start with yourself then." He said quietly. The other three nodded in agreement. They weren't too sure how to start anyway.

Kakashi looked surprised for a few seconds before he shrugged. "Oh me? My name is Kakashi Hatake. What I like….I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future…hmm…never really thought about that….as for my hobbies…well, I have lots of hobbies." He told them, getting very annoyed glares from the four. Gaara, again, sweat dropped.

"All we learned was his name." Sakura muttered dryly.

Kakashi didn't seem to hear that. All he did was point to Naruto. "Okay. Now it's your turn, from the right." He told them. Naruto grew very excited that he was going to be the first and immediately jumped to telling them his name and how much he liked ramen. Then for his dream, he blurted out that he was going to be Hokage some day. Then it was Sasuke's turn. He just silently told him his name and how there was a man he was sworn to kill. That was all. Gaara just watched him from the corner of his eyes, wondering who he was talking about but Sasuke wouldn't say. Next was Sakura. She told them her name and began to talk weird. She kept cutting herself off as she glanced over at Sasuke, so there wasn't very much they learned from her. But it was obvious that she was daydreaming about the raven haired boy. But the thing she disliked the most was Naruto, much to the blonde's horror.

Now it was Gaara's turn.

All eyes turned onto the red head, who gave them all a dry look as if daring them to ask him to say anything. Obviously, Kakashi was the only one who decided to take the dare. "Okay. You're next. Who are you and what do you dream about?" Gaara gave him a dry stare before he looked away, as if he wasn't going to answer. He didn't want to do this. It was stupid and pointless. Besides his name, they didn't need to know about him. However, Kakashi just folded his arms, looking amused. "We can sit here all day or you can just tell us. Either way, I would like to know about you."

Growling in annoyance, Gaara turned his eyes back onto the silver-white haired Ninja, almost glaring at him. "My name is Gaara." He answered. "I don't dream, my hopes is for you to drop this stupid subject, as it is for my desire and what I want most is for everyone to stop looking at me." He shot the other three a dark look, who immediately looked away, though Sasuke did it slowly.

Kakashi was the only one who was amused. He just looked at Gaara with a mild twinkle in his eye before he slowly nodded. "Ah, I see." He then brightened as he rested his chin into his hand. "That's enough of that. We will start our duties tomorrow!" He told them. Naruto brightened just like he did, grinning like an idiot, or at least a bigger idiot than he already was. "Yah! Duties! What kind of duties?!"

"Well, first, we're going to do something with just the five of us." Kakashi said with a lazy shrug.

Naruto grinned even more, getting weird looks from Sakura and Sasuke. Gaara just glanced over at his friend before shaking his head. He was used to the blonde's attitude so he wasn't too weirded out like the other two were. "Really? Like what?!" Naruto burst out, scooting towards Kakashi a little.

Kakashi just had this mischievous glint in his eye as he dipped his head down a little and staring right at Naruto. "Survival training." He simply said.

That didn't seem so impressive to the four Genin. They had already did that sort of thing when they were in the Ninja Academy. So therefore, Naruto was complaining about it and Sakura was trying to question Kakashi about it. But the Jounin just weaseled out of answering it by just telling them to go home and prepare for tomorrow. And as Jiraiya predicted to Gaara, the silver-white haired Jounin told the four to not eat breakfast before showing up at the training grounds they were going to. Then he vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the four Genin to just look at one another then shrug before they went home for the evening.

Throughout the night, Gaara had spent the entire evening gathering all of his supplies and then tried to meditate for a while to gather his thoughts. He also gathered some fruit for the day, after remembering what Jiraiya had told him the day before. So he placed the fruit into the gourde, which he believed would it be best stored. Once his alarm went off in the early morning, he left to meet with the others.

Upon arriving, he discovered that he had been the first so he stood and waited for the others. He was soon joined by Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. They only looked at one another before sitting down to wait for Kakashi. But unaware, they were in for a long wait.

Two Hours Later

"Yo! Good morning, guys." came the calm and collected voice of their Jounin sensai. He came walked up while waving at them in a friendly greeting. But both Naruto and Sakura jumped to their feet and pointed at him with rage. "You're late!" They shouted, with great annoyance. Gaara and Sasuke only gave the Jounin cool looks as they just stood there.

Kakashi just gave them an amused look as he folded his arms and faced the annoyed four. "Oh, well you see. I came across a lost kitty so I tried to help it find its way home." He tried as an excuse.

All four Genin sweat dropped or stared at him dully.

Finally they were about to start. Kakashi pulled out an alarm clock and set it to go off around noon. Then he began to explain what they were going to do. All four of the Genin were going to face him in combat, trying to steal two bells he carried at his waist and they were to do it before noon. If they failed to get a bell from him by then, they would be tied to one of the three stumps sitting near a large black stone with writing on it and they would be forced to watch him eat lunch right in front of them, which explained why he didn't want them to eat breakfast that morning.

Though Gaara did not even bother telling any of them he had fruit hidden in his gourde. He figured that if they really got hungry, he would give Naruto some, and maybe Sakura. But Sasuke would have to fend off for himself.

However, Kakashi also mentioned to them that there were only two bells and two box lunches, so that meant that two of the Genin were going to get tied up to the stumps and wouldn't get to eat. And those two who got tied up would be sent back to the Ninja Academy. And to make things worst, Kakashi told them to run at him as if they were going to kill him. That definitely did not sit too well with the Genin.

"B-but…you'll be in danger!" Sakura gasped as she looked at him as if he was crazy.

Naruto just snorted with humor and folded his arms behind his head. "Yeah. You're so slow, that you couldn't even dodge an eraser." He laughed. "We'll kill you."

Gaara half expected Kakashi to just grab Naruto now and tie him up to the stump then say that he failed but to his, and everyone else's surprise, Kakashi chuckled darkly as he looked right at Naruto. "In the real world, those without talent often bark the loudest." He told the blonde. "Well, ignore Mr. Dead Last and start when I say…."

Naruto over reacted as Gaara thought. Fire began to dance in the blonde's eyes before he just whipped out his kunai and ran at Kakashi, with the intent to kill look in his eyes. He was that pissed off. Gaara straightened a little and watched as his friend rose his kunai. He wondered if he should try and stop his friend before he killed this Jounin, though he was somewhat tempted of just killing him, himself.

However, something shocking happened.

Kakashi was suddenly right behind Naruto, grabbing the threatening hand with the kunai and held it right behind the blonde's neck, as if to stab him with his own kunai. Immediately, Naruto froze with alarm and he wasn't the only one. Sasuke, Sakura and Gaara stepped back in surprise. None of them had even seen Kakashi move. So he was not as slow as they had thought he was. And seeing his friend already in trouble, Gaara reacted next. His teeth clenched, he made a move forward with his hand starting to rise to summon out some sand.

But a hand slapped around his wrist and jerked it above his head before the other hand held up a kunai under the red head's chin, making him freeze again. It was another Kakashi; a Shadow Clone of Kakashi. But when had even created one? It was an alarming thought.

"Slow down." Both Kakashi spoke. "I didn't say go yet."

Both Naruto and Gaara turned their heads to look at the Kakashi behind them, both still very alarmed and confused of how fast Kakashi had moved, much less made a Shadow clone so fast. But it was clear that Kakashi, both of them, were amused. "Well, it seems to me that you are ready to come at me with the intent to kill or protect your team mates." He said with amusement. "Seems like….I'm beginning to like you guys." That made Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura smirk a little, while Gaara did not find this amusing at all. He didn't like the fact that someone was faster than him. Not to mention had neutralized him before he even had the chance to blink.

"All right. Let's get going." Kakashi said, as he lightly pushed Naruto away from him and the Shadow Clone was gone in a puff of smoke. "Ready…..start!"

There was four whooshes as all four of the Genin leapt away from Kakashi and took off running. They weren't the only ones. Kakashi also bolted away from them and out of sight. Gaara had decided to retreat towards the sandier area of the training grounds, which was somewhat near the lake. He stayed away from the water though. He had a thing about water. He wasn't a hydrophobic but he didn't like water very much. But that was probably because he didn't know how to swim. Jiraiya had tried to teach him once but the poor red head nearly drowned. He found that once he got into deep water, he sank like a bag of sand. So he wasn't able to swim. Gaara was very surprised though as he sank down on the beach while summoning up a pile of sand to try and hide him from anyone's view. He had believed that Kakashi was lazy, careless and very slow but the Jounin had just proved that he wasn't. Now he was starting to wish he took Jiraiya a little more seriously when he had said not to look down on this Jounin. He needed to come up with a good plan. How was he going to get those bells from Kakashi? And bigger question, how good was he?

"Come and fight me!" Naruto's voice suddenly blared out.

Gaara's eyes widened a little before he sweat dropped and waved a hand under the sand. Some of the sand moved away so he could out of his sandy shelter and try to see what his blockhead of a friend was doing. And as expected, the idiot had marched right up to Kakashi and was demanding for a fight. 'Oh, you idiot.' Gaara thought dryly.

"The kid definitely wants to die young, doesn't he?" Came Shukaku's rumble.

Gaara ignored the demon and watched from his hiding spot as Naruto charged at Kakashi, making him shake his head. He couldn't believe how stupid the blonde could be some times. But as Naruto charged, Kakashi reached behind him, into his hip pouch, making the blonde immediately screech to a halt and Gaara tense. Was the Jounin going for a weapon?!

But instead of a weapon, Kakashi pulled out an orange book.

That made Gaara frown darkly as he watched Kakashi open up the book and annoy his blonde friend. To pull out a book during a fight, that was like an insult to other Shinobi. So obviously, Kakashi was not taking this seriously. Naruto really thought so too because with an angered growl, he continued his charge, ready to pound the living crap out of Kakashi while he read his book.

Again, the Genin were in for a shocking surprise.

For as Naruto started to swing his fists at Kakashi, the silver-white haired Jounin began to weave in and out of his attacks with such grace and poise. He didn't even look away as he easily dodged Naruto's attacks. It was like he was actually reading Naruto's mind and just moving when the blonde struck out with his fists. Naruto even tried to kick at him but again, Kakashi moved out of the way. Then Naruto tried to punch Kakashi as he was crouching, but the Jounin easily moved right behind Naruto, making the seal of the Tiger!

That really made Gaara tense. He knew that if a Shinobi used that sign, he meant to kill his opponent.

"Naruto! Get out of there!" screamed Sakura's voice from somewhere in the bushes. "You're going to be killed!"

Gaara was now moving as fast as he could. He burst out of his sandy hideout and ran towards Naruto and Kakashi. He had to help his friend before he ended up dead. He swore if Kakashi hurt him in a life threatening way, he would kill the silver haired bastard! He was not going to let the Jounin get away with this!

But it was too late to help Naruto.

Kakashi thrust up his fingers right into Naruto's backside with a dangerous glint in his eye, stabbing him right in the butt, while bellowing, "A Thousand Years of Pain!"

Gaara came to a sudden halt as he watched Naruto go flying several feet up into the air, screaming in pain. The blonde sailed right over his head and dropped like a rock right in the lake. The red head had tried to give chase, maybe to catch his friend before he hit the ground but immediately halted when he came to the water's edge. He had to scamper back a little when he accidentally stepped into the water, looking a little helpless. He could not go any further to help Naruto.

"Hmm. Interesting. You don't seem to like water very much." Came Kakashi's voice right behind him.

Gaara grew tense when he heard that voice right behind him before he spun around, throwing out his hands towards the Jounin standing not more than ten feet away from him. Sand shot right out of the mouth of the gourde and flew at Kakashi. The silver-white haired Shinobi quickly began to move to avoid the sand and read his book at the same time but he found that he was not able to dodge sand and read that same time so he put the book away. He began flipping around to avoid getting hit by the clouds of sand lashing at him.

"You hurt Naruto. Big mistake." Gaara growled but paused as two shruiken blades came flying out of the river behind him and flew at Kakashi. That definitely took him by surprise. But Kakashi didn't seem surprised at all. He just caught the blades as if someone had just tossed them at him and chuckled.

Suddenly there were several splashes; catching their attention and eight Narutos came leaping out of the water and joined Gaara's side, all glaring at the silver-white haired Jounin. For some reason, the red head could sense the surprise from Sakura and Sasuke, even if they weren't even in sight. Kakashi didn't look surprised but it definitely had his attention. "Hmm. Not just Clone, but Shadow Clones. The skill that not only creates illusions but real bodies of yourself." The Jounin spoke up. "Well, no matter how many Shadow clones you are able to create, you still won't be able to beat me with that jutsu." And then his eye snapped wide open as he became very alert.

WHAP!

"What?!" Kakashi yelled out as another Naruto jumped him from behind and latched onto his back, holding him in place. "Behind me?!"

Even Gaara was a little surprised that Naruto had been able to pull that off. He hadn't even seen the Naruto coming. But now, Kakashi was trapped by a giggling hysterically Naruto. "Hah! Using the Shadow clone jutsu, I managed to distract you with eight of my Shadow clones and snuck around behind you!" The blonde Genin said excitedly. "My ass is still hurting! But here comes revenge! Come get 'em, Gaara! Punch his lights out!"

Gaara nodded with a cool smirk on his face before he threw out one of his fists. The sand all around him quickly formed into a sandy fist and launched towards a dumbfounded Kakashi.

Until it actually connected with him; only it wasn't him.

Both Gaara and Naruto looked stunned when they saw that the Naruto clone was actually holding another Naruto, only this one was dazed and bloody after getting hit so hard. All of the Narutos stared at the bloody Naruto clone with jaws dropped with shock and anger. They couldn't believe that had happened. But Gaara realized what did happen, much to his anger and frustration. He realized that Kakashi had performed a substitution jutsu and switched with one of Naruto's clones. But question was, was he still there?

The annoyed red head looked around and found that all of the Narutos were now accusing each other of being Kakashi and were now fighting one another. This made him sigh and shake his head. This was getting them no where. All it was getting them at was Naruto was beating himself up. "Naruto, release your jutsu. If one of them is in deed Kakashi, then there will be two of you." He said impatiently. Naruto blinked in surprise before nodding and quickly doing what his friend said. To their disgust, it was only them. So Kakashi had escaped.

With a groan of anger, Gaara quickly called his sand back and darted for the bushes. He needed to retreat for now and come up with a plan. This was getting him no where and he was running out of time. "Naruto! Pull back and come up with a plan!" He yelled over his shoulder, though he knew it wasn't any use. The wacky ninja would just go on a rampage until Kakashi decided to just beat the living crap out of him to shut him up. Quickly, he found somewhere to hide so he could observe Kakashi.

For almost an hour, he watched as Naruto continued to try and fight Kakashi, only to get his butt whipped. He also fell for obvious traps and get into trouble with everything he did. Then he watched as Kakashi trapped Sakura into an Illusion, so obviously the Jounin was an expert on Genjutsu. He was very good when it came to Taijutsu, especially when he faced off with Sasuke and buried the raven haired Shinobi neck deep in the ground. Gaara had been watching everything and trying to come up with a good plan. It was a long time before Gaara realized how quiet it was. He had heard Sakura scream and he figured that he should go see what happened to her, not to mention, he could hear Naruto yelling curses, for he got caught in a trap again. With a grow, the red head came out of hiding to go find Naruto and help the idiot out whatever he had gotten himself into.

But before he could get far, Gaara suddenly found a large wave of water roll right before him, cutting off his path. Alarmed, he halted and tried to step back, only to realize that he was now standing on a tiny island, surrounded by water. The red head jerked around in circles to look at all of the water, feeling a little nervous as he saw how much there was. He did not like this at all. He was trapped.

"So, you ARE scared of water." Came Kakashi's calm voice. "Care to share why?"

Gaara clenched his teeth tightly shut before turning around to find the silver-white haired Jounin standing right on top of the water, just watching him curiously. It was obvious now. He was trapped in an illusion. Some how, Kakashi had managed to creep up on him and place him under Genjutsu. Glaring at the Jounin, Gaara rose a fist and then punched himself hard across the face. Hard enough to make him immediately snap out of the illusion. And that's what surprised him the most. He was standing very close to the river. He quickly took a step away from the river, giving it a look of distaste before turning to glare at Kakashi again. "Genjutsu." He said coolly. "It won't catch me again."

"Hmm. You're not a very friendly, one are you? All well. So are you just going to stand there?" Kakashi asked clearly smirking under that mask of his. "Or are you going to try and get one of these bells? So far, Sasuke's the only one who has been able to touch one."

Gaara glared darkly at him before he charged and tried to take him on with Taijutsu. He would try and get him with his sand later when he had the chance. But right now, it was going to be hand to hand. "Where is Naruto?! What have you done with him?!" He demanded as they fought. Kakashi just looked amused as he blocked the red head's very moves. "Why worry about the Dead Last ninja when you should worry about the bells?" He asked with amusement.

"Naruto," Gaara growled between his teeth. "Is my friend. I will be taking those two bells right now. One for me and one for him."

Kakashi just looked right into Gaara's teal colored eyes with his one dark one before catching the red head's fist from punching into his gut. He didn't look amused anymore. He just stared at the boy dryly. "What about Sasuke and Sakura? They're your team mates too you know? Shouldn't you give them a little respect?" He asked lazily. Gaara only glared at him as he tried to wrench his fist free or try to lash out a kick at the Jounin, who caught it easily. "No! They don't! Sasuke is a show off and Sakura is rude to Naruto! They don't deserve respect!" He growled at him.

"….." The Jounin thought out loud before he shoved the red head right off of him, making him stumble and hit the ground.

It was right at that moment, a loud ringing noise began to echo throughout the area. It took Gaara a minute to realize that it was the alarm. It was times up. He had failed to get the bells from Kakashi. This didn't look very good. Kakashi turned away, shaking his head. "Times up. Let's go back to the stone." He told him now walking away. Gaara continued to glare at his back as he rubbed dirt off of his chin before standing up and following the Jounin. This was not good.


	6. Chapter Six

Upon reaching the three stumps, Gaara immediately reacted when he spotted Naruto tied to one of the stumps, groaning about how he had gotten into trouble. Sasuke and Sakura were watching him but they looked over when Kakashi and Gaara approached. Both didn't look very happy that they had failed the bell test either. Gaara, on the other hand, just marched towards Naruto to untie him. He was really starting to get pissed at this Jounin. How dare he tie up his friend? Even if Naruto was a little bit of a blockhead.

"Leave him there." Kakashi ordered, strictly now.

Gaara stopped and looked up at he silver-white haired Jounin, who no longer looked lazy and careless anymore. He was dropping the act now as he moved to stand in front of the four Genin. Gaara just frowned before turning back towards Naruto and taking a step as if he was going to completely ignore Kakashi.

But a Kunai was thrown with a loud whistle as it sank into the ground right before Gaara, coming very close to cutting him. The red head had no choice but to step back to avoid getting hit while he turned his glare back onto Kakashi, who glared right back.

"I said, leave him there. He's there for a reason." The Jounin warned him.

Gaara just continued to glare at him but looked over when Naruto sighed and called to him. The blonde just shook his head, telling him to just drop it. So without a word, Gaara folded his arms in defeat and continued to glower at Kakashi, who didn't even seem to notice. He just watched the four sit or stand around the tree stumps, though he seemed to smirk when their stomachs began to growl. "Oh, you guys look very hungry." He said with amusement, only to get glares from them. "By the way, about the training….well, there's no need for you to go back to the Ninja Academy."

That made all four look at him with astonishment or dull surprise. It dawned on them that they might have just passed the test. Both Naruto and Sakura immediately began to cheer, thinking that they had passed. Sasuke kept quiet before looking away with a smirk. But Gaara just stared at Kakashi with suspicion. He knew that something was up. "Then! Then! All four of us….." Naruto was exclaiming with happiness.

"…Yup, all four of you…" Kakashi said slowly, ignoring the cheering two. "Should quit as ninja."

That definitely made Naruto and Sakura shut up and stare at him with horror. Gaara and Sasuke glared at the silver-white haired Shinobi. This was not what they wanted to hear. After a minute, Naruto roared in rage, "Quit as ninja?! What does that mean?! Okay, so we didn't get the bells! Why do we have to quit?!"

"Because all of you are just punks who don't deserve to be ninja." Kakashi said darkly as he stared at them.

There was a moment's pause before Sasuke growled angrily and leapt to his feet and charged at the Jounin. He wasn't the only one. Gaara was glaring hatefully at Kakashi before he decided to join Sasuke. He dropped his gourde and charged right after him. Both of them ran side by side at the motionless Jounin, who just watched them dryly. They were going to beat this Shinobi and prove that they were ninja worthy.

But as the serious two Genin approached Kakashi, it happened way too fast.

As Gaara and Sasuke lashed out at him, Kakashi merely side stepped them before lashing out with a foot and kicking the red head hard in the chest, sending him flying through the air until he fell twenty feet away, in the deep part of the river. As for Sasuke, the Jounin grabbed his arm and flipped him right over his head until he slammed down onto the ground. A few seconds later, he was sitting on the raven haired boy's back with his arm wretched behind his back.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelped, now trying to break free from the ropes. He was thrashing as hard as he could to get loose. "Gaara! Hold on!"

Sakura, on the other hand, was looking at Kakashi with rage. "No! Don't step on Sasuke-kun!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

Kakashi gave them all a dark look as he looked the two over but then shook his head. His hand only tightened around Sasuke's wrist, making the boy wince. "Silence! Are you trying to underestimate ninja? Do you think this is a game?!" He demanded. Naruto now gave him a nasty look as he kept thrashing to get his arms loose. "Shut up! Gaara can't swim, you bastard! He's gonna drown!" He yelled at the Jounin. Kakashi frowned before looking around his shoulder towards the river to see that Gaara was in deep thrashing in the water and was having a very hard time staying above water.

"Hmm." Kakashi hummed before he used his other hand to form a sign and with a blast of smoke, a Kakashi clone appeared right beside him before merely walking over to a tree next to the river. The clone then yanked out a kunai and threw it towards a high, large branch above Gaara, striking right through it. The branch broke off with a loud snap and fell down into the water near Gaara, who scrambled for it. He caught the branch and clutched it while gasping for air.

"Now, listen up, you four! Why do you think you were divided up into teams?" Kakashi asked dryly as soon as his Shadow clone was gone.

That surprised all four Genin, making them all just stare at Kakashi, as if he had just told them a very odd joke. Sakura tilted her head as she fiddled with her hair. "Huh? What do you mean?" She asked blinking in surprise. Kakashi sighed and shook his head. He was not happy about that answer. "So, basically, you are not understanding the answer to this test." He muttered dryly. Naruto blinked in surprise, staring dumbly at him. He even spared a glance towards Gaara, to see how he was fairing but he wasn't doing too good. All he was doing was trying not to slip under the water again as he watched Kakashi just sit on top of Sasuke. "Yes. The answer that helps you pass this test." He told them, as if trying to hint them of what he was talking about. Now Sakura blinked in surprise. "So, when are you going to tell us?"

Kakashi groaned as if that was the dumbest question ever asked. "I don't believe this. So you don't know what the purpose of this exercise was?"

"Hey! Are you going to tell us or not?!" Naruto exclaimed.

Again Kakashi gave them a very dry look as if Naruto was the dumbest kid on the planet, which he was probably thinking that. "It's teamwork!" he barked at them. All four Genin froze with surprise. They all looked as if someone had just told them a deep dark secret that might alter the world into the darkest place ever. "The four of you working together might have gotten these two bells from me. But you chose not to."

Sakura then blinked as if something had just came to her attention, which it had. She stared at Kakashi as if he had grown trees right out of his ears. "Hey, wait a second…" She muttered before her eyes grew wide. "What do you mean by teamwork?! There are two bells! Even if we did work together, there are only two bells. Two of us would have failed anyway! So what team work?! That would just make us fight one another!" She said trying to state the obvious.

Kakashi just looked at her lazily before he had the look as if he was smirking. "Of course. That was the purpose of the exercise. To fight among yourselves. The purpose was to see if you could forget your personal interests and successfully work together under the designed circumstances." He shook his head. "Yet, you guys…" He paused turning his eye onto Sakura. "Sakura, instead of Naruto, who was right in front of you, you were worried about Sasuke, who was far away from you." His eyes turned onto Naruto next. "Naruto! You were running around by yourself! Sasuke, you assumed that the others would only get in your way and tried to do everything yourself! The only team work I saw was between Gaara and Naruto." He turned a little to look over at Gaara in the water. "Like Sakura, you were so focused on making sure that Naruto was okay. Even though Naruto tried to steal all of the lunches for himself." He looked around at the others again. "The duties are done by the team. But of course, the decision to work together is made by the individual ninja. There will come a time where you are on a mission and your team will be attacked by enemies. One of your team mates might be captured, maybe the one closest to you and will threaten their lives." Kakashi said before he began digging into his hip pouch and pulled out a kunai. "For example," he brought the kunai close to Sasuke's neck as if to slit his throat. "Sakura! Kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies!"

Sakura gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth with her hands while Naruto paled and looked at her with wide eyes.

In the water, Gaara almost slipped under the water when he tried to make for the shore, wanting to be there to stop Sakura if she actually was going to kill the blonde but he had to catch the branch again. He knew that if the pink haired girl really was going to kill Naruto, he could not help him. He was helpless in that water.

But to their relief, Kakashi released Sasuke and climbed off of him, now moving towards the large black stone. "See? If a hostage is taken, then you will have very tough choices to make and you will die. You will be risking your lives on these kinds of duties." He then looked at the stone before them. "Look at all of the names on this stone. These are ninjas who are recognized as heroes in the village."

There was a moment's pause before Naruto got a very bright look on his face. He began to grin and kick his feet up into the air. "Hey! Hey! Hey! I've decided to get my name carved on that stone too! Hero! Hero! That's what I'll become!" He cheered.

"…..But these aren't just normal heroes." Kakashi said in a low voice.

Gaara froze to hear that tone in his voice. He instantly knew what kind of heroes that he was referring to. But Naruto was totally oblivious. "Oh yeah?! What kind are they?!"

Kakashi didn't answer, but just stared down at the stone.

"What! What!" Naruto asked excitedly.

Another long silence before Kakashi tilted his head to the side as if to look over his shoulder at the blonde. All three; Gaara, Sasuke and Sakura had caught on so they were looking rather grave but none of them said anything.

"They are all heroes who died while on duty." Kakashi said in a low voice.

Immediately, Naruto's smile vanished and he stared dumbfounded at Kakashi. Slowly his face fell and he lowered his head, looking sad. He realized exactly what the Jounin was talking about. And the stabbing pain of guilt was no doubt in his heart as he closed his eyes tightly and groaned. Kakashi kept his back on the other three, while Gaara was still clutching to the branch to keep above the water. "This is a memorial. My best friend's name is carved here."

There was another long silence as the four looked solemnly away. None of them could find anything to say to Kakashi. Gaara, of course, couldn't really say anything. If he did, he would end up swallowing water.

Then Kakashi finally turned around and looked strictly at them. "All right. I'll give you one more chance. If you can work together and get the bells away from me after lunch, then I'll reconsider on keeping three of you. But one of you will have to fail and you will never become Shinobi. Get the bells from me and you pass. So eat up." He then tapped the two bento boxes on the block of stone. "Gaara, swim in. There are two here, but Naruto does not eat. If you feed Naruto, you will all automatically fail. It's a punishment for trying to eat the lunches to yourself." He then looked very serious. "I am the rules here. Got that?"

And then he was gone.

Naruto just snorted as he tried to grin. "Heh! I don't need food to fight! I'm fine!" He claimed.

Ten minutes later, his stomach was growling loudly. While Sakura and Sasuke were eating, his eyes was turned towards Gaara who was trying to swim in on the branch but he was failing. The current of the river kept pushing him back away from the shore and he was getting very tired. Naruto was watching very hungry, yet helpless that he couldn't help his red head friend. He knew that Gaara needed help but he couldn't move. He had tried to pull his arms free from the ropes but they were stuck.

"Aww, man. Hold on, Gaara! Once I get free, I'll come help you!" Naruto called as he fought with the ropes but his arms were pinned and he groaned. "Man. Why'd Kakashi have to go make these ropes so tight?"

Sasuke glanced up at him as he ate some of the rice from the bento box before looking over at the struggling red head in the water, who almost slipped and went under. He watched as the other Genin came up again, sputtering on the water. But after a moment, Sasuke shook his head and put his lunch down, standing up. He pulled out a kunai and approached Naruto, who paled.

"What are you doing?!" The blonde cried out in alarm.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he grabbed the rope and began cutting through it. "Shut up, dobe. Gaara's going to drown if we don't help him. And I personally don't want to be responsible for his death when I could have done something to help him." He muttered before pulling the rope off of Naruto and started walking towards the water.

Naruto blinked in surprise once he was freed but then he grinned and bounded after him. Sakura frowned as she watched them, then shrugged and started to follow after them. She figured that she could help out too. For a minute, they stood there, watching Gaara and tried to come up with an idea to help get the red head to safety. Then Sasuke tied the rope around one of his kunai before throwing it hard towards the branch, which hit the end farthest away from the red head.

"Grab the rope, Gaara! Just hold real tight and we'll pull you and the branch in!" Naruto called as he grabbed a hold of the rope with Sasuke and Sakura. Then the three of them began to pull. They all kept pulling until Gaara's feet was finally able to touch the sandy shore and he stumbled onto dry land. He almost fell backwards into the water but Naruto and Sasuke caught him from falling and helped him out of the water. They all watched as Gaara sat down on the ground, still gasping for air and from exhaustion.

Sakura just bent down beside him and tried to rub his back, thinking that might help a little. "Hey, Gaara. Are you okay?" She asked with some concern.

Gaara looked at her wearily but then nodded. "I'm…..f-fine." He muttered as tried to stand up but he nearly went down again. Naruto immediately caught his arm and helped him keep standing. He just shook his head as he and Sasuke began to help Gaara back over to the three stumps while Sakura followed, still looking at him with concern.

The four sat together against the tree stumps and went back to their lunch, while Naruto was sitting with his back to Sasuke and Sakura. He knew if he continued to watch them eat, he would only get hungrier. Gaara chose not to eat either but just watched Sasuke and Sakura curiously. "Why did you help me?" He asked after a while. Both looked up at him when he asked. Then Sasuke shrugged as he looked away again. "We need all four of us to take on Kakashi. He's too good for just one of us alone."

Sakura slowly nodded. "Yeah. I think I've come up with a plan to get those bells. Gaara, if you spread all of your sand all over the place and in the grass, you can try and catch Kakashi-sensai. Since you can control sand and all, you'll probably have a better chance of getting him. If that doesn't work, Sasuke and Naruto, you can set traps all over the place. Surely you, Naruto, have some pranks that might help catch Kakashi off guard. Me, I don't know what I can do. Maybe I can play as the damsel in distress or something. You know, distract him."

There was a pause before the three boys all nodded. They all figured this plan might work. Gaara just leaned against his gourde, keeping his eyes down. "It sounds possible." He said quietly.

"It's the only plan we have right now." Sasuke agreed.

"The only question is, since there are only two bells and four of us, who gets them? Only two of us will be able to pass." Added Sakura as bit her lip, nervously. The four Genin went quiet again before Sasuke shook his head and looked away. "We can try to split up in two teams. Two of us will get one bell while the other two get the other." He told them. Again, the other three nodded.

A second later, the silence was broken off with a very loud growl and by the way Naruto was blushing, it was his stomach that was growling. He tried to shut it up by digging his fist into his gut. But it was no use. Gaara, Sakura and Sasuke were looking at him now. They knew that he was starving. With a frown, Sasuke held out his box lunch towards him. "Here."

Naruto whirled around and gave him a wide eyed look. Even Sakura was looking at him in shock. And both were probably thinking the same thing. "What are you doing?!" The blonde exclaimed with shock.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he just continued to hold out the box to Naruto. "If we're going to take Kakashi on as a team, we all need to be in top condition. If you're starving, then you will be useless to me. Now take the lunch before I change my mind." He said impatiently.

There was a long pause before Naruto's face softened and he took Sasuke's lunch. "Uh…..thanks." he muttered sheepishly.

Sakura just sat there almost too stunned before she looked down at her own lunch and stared. After another moment's pause, she turned to Gaara and held it out him. "Here you go, Gaara. You should probably eat too." She told him trying to smile. Gaara blinked at her, almost a little surprised before looking down at the lunch box. He wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. But when he didn't take it, she placed it down in front of him and then leaned against the tree stump. "I'm on a diet anyway. I don't need to eat too much." She said as she looked up at the blue sky above them.

Gaara watched her for a moment before his face softened and he turned to his gourde, holding out his hand for it. The gourde shivered for a second before sand began to drift out of it, carrying the fruit he had hidden in it. The other three looked a little surprised to see he had stashed some food in his gourde but then they smiled. It was pretty sneaky, they had to admit. Turning back to the other three, Gaara motioned towards them and the sand carried a fruit to each of them. "Here." He offered. The other three just accepted the fruit with a thanks, even Sasuke.

Suddenly there was an explosion of smoke all around them, making all of them jump and whirl around as a silver flash few right out of the smoke and Kakashi rose right before them. He had practically came out of the ground, glaring at three of the alarmed Genin. Gaara, however, glared right back. He looked as if he had been expecting this.

"YOU!" Kakashi bellowed, almost like an angry wolf. "You didn't listen to me! You have broken my rules! Didn't I make myself clear of what would happen?!"

Frowning, Sakura stood up, looking up at him with fear but confusion. "I don't understand, Kakashi-sensai! First you say we're suppose to work together and when we do, you get mad! What exactly do you expect from us?!" She cried out. Kakashi just turned a dark look on her as he stood above them. He glanced at the three boys as they stood up to face him with the pink haired girl. "You are to follow the rules! When I say don't feed Naruto, I meant it!" He yelled at them.

Gaara just glared at him, with his arms folded across his chest boldly. "I will not let Naruto starve just because you said so." He said coldly. "Besides, it's our lunch anyway. If we choose to let Naruto have some, we will."

Kakashi glared at the boy, his arms folded across his own chest. There was almost a dark aura starting to surround the Jounin. He looked almost evil as he stood over the four 13 year old Genin. "But why would you do that?! You don't like each other and you are so different from one another! Why share your food with one another?!" He exclaimed.

Now Sasuke decided to pitch in. He lift his head higher as he just glared at the Jounin with his dark eyes. "Because we are a team. All four of us. And a team looks out for one another, just like you said. No matter the rules!" He said darkly. Kakashi just glowered at the boy as he dropped his hands to his side. "Really? So as a team, you are ready to suffer the consequences?" He asked. All four Genin looked at one another before they nodded to one another and then to Kakashi with determination. "And you do realize that this is suppose to be a three man team? One of you will have to give up. One of you has to quit Shinobi!" The Jounin added.

Sakura shook her head as she now put on a brave face. She even balled up her fists and stomped a foot at Kakashi. "Then make it a three man team! It will be a three man and a lady team! All four of us will pass or none of us will!" She said bravely. Naruto nodded as he glared up at Kakashi. "Yeah! Because it's not fair that three of us pass and one of us fails!"

"You fail one of us, you fail all of us." Gaara said firmly.

Kakashi stared at all four before he slowly nodded and straightened. "Very well. By the power of the Lord Hokage, all four of you," he jabbed a finger at them. At that very second, his dark and evil personality vanished and he was smiling gently. Even the horrific Genjutsu he was using vanished. "Pass."

There was a long silence as all four stared at him with wide eyes now. They didn't understand. A minute ago, Kakashi had been yelling at them for breaking the rules. And now, he was being all nice like. Even Gaara didn't understand. "Huh?" Naruto asked very confused. Kakashi only smiled as he leaned over the four and tilted his head. "I said, you all pass." He told them in a very nice way.

"Um..." Sakura asked sounding clueless.

Even Sasuke looked a little suspicious as he just tilted his head to the side. He wasn't going to let Kakashi try and trap them again. He seemed pretty good at doing that. "Why do we pass?"

Kakashi's face softened as he straightened. He folded his arms again and he shifted his weight. "Because you actually acted like a team. Before, you all pitched in and helped Gaara swim to shore when he could have drowned. And then then you tried to share your lunches together, to make sure that all of you had enough strength for the second part of the Survival exercise." He recieved black stares from the four and he shook his head. "When one breaks the rules, they are scum. But when one abandons their friends and team mates, they are lower than scum." He then nodded as it dawned on the four. "Since you all stood up for one another, you pass the test. You four now make up Team Seven." He told them.

Slowly, Naruto and Sakura's faces brightened and they immediately burst with happiness. They realized that Kakashi wasn't pulling their legs this time. He really meant it. They had passed the test. "Yeah! We did it! We did it!" Naruto yelled with happiness. Sakura just giggled as she jumped up and down before throwing her arms around the nearest person with glee, which happened to be Gaara. And he blushed as he looked at her with alarm. Sasuke only smirked to himself as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"All right then, team. Let's head home. We have a lot of work to do. It doesn't get any easier than this. Starting tomorrow, we are in for some rough training." Kakashi told them before he turned and starting walking away towards the village. Slowly, the four Genin began to follow him. Gaara was only too relieved when Sakura let go of him and hurried after the Jounin but then froze again when Naruto threw an arm around his shoulder. "We did it, man! We really became Shinobi and we're on the same team! This is so cool, isn't it, Gaara?!" The blonde asked excitedly. Gaara looked at him with amusement but he nodded. He was just happy that he was a Shinobi and he was with a team that might just understand him. And maybe, with the help of Team Seven, he could find out who he really was, what his past was, and where he truly belonged.


	7. Chapter Seven

Almost three weeks had passed since Team Seven had been formed and they had already been on a few missions. But they weren't anything that the four Genin had been expecting at all. They were some of the simplest missions that even a Shinobi candidate could pull them off. They were simple errands, like baby-sitting for elders or going shopping for different people in the next town. It was really starting to get aggravating for the Team, even though the Team Captain, who was no doubt Kakashi, didn't even complain. He didn't even bother to.

Worst part, Gaara was starting to lose his patience with the simple missions they were getting. He tried to keep his head cool, tried to keep his mouth shut but every time they got a mission like washing a clansmen's dog, the demon inside his head began to swear up a sandstorm, literately. None of his team actually noticed the storm but Kakashi had. He could hear the sand starting to swirl within the gourd that Gaara carried. When that happened, he just went over and tapped the red head on the shoulder, telling him to cool it.

Until the last mission.

All five members of Team Seven watched dully as their latest client had been reunited with her cat; and silently, Gaara was starting to realize why the damn cat had run away in the first place. So did the others. They couldn't seriously blame it at all.

"No wonder it ran away." Sakura said with a huge sweat drop rolling down the side of her face as she and the others watched the large lady maul her poor cat with hugs and kisses. It was really pathetic really. Gaara, however, only felt little pity for the cat. And that was because the stupid animal had tried to use his sand trap as a liter box on the mission. So he wasn't feeling too sorry for it. Only a little.

Naruto, beside him, was pouting about how lame the mission had been, yet he was rubbing a long line of three scratches on his cheek where the cat had sliced him with its claws. "Man, talking about stupid."

"Okay. Now for your next mission." Iruka began as he was looking over some scrolls. "We have baby sitting for Elder Chow or a mission for an elderly man who wishes..."

"Gah! No way!" Naruto burst out as he crossed his arms to make a large X. "I'm so sick of getting these really dumb ass missions! I want a REAL mission! Give us a challenge, Iruka-sensai!" He demanded. All eyes went to him, though his teammates silently agreed with him. They were getting sick of the simple missions too. They wanted something a little harder.

Iruka and the Third Hokage just sighed and shook their heads. "Naruto, you have to follow certain standards. We can't just hand you any mission. You are still Genin, so you have to do Ranked D missions. So deal with it." Iruka said dryly.

"NO EFFING WAY!" Naruto barked. "This is so stupid! I want a real mission, dammit! I want a real...OW!" He yelped when Kakashi clobbered him over the head with his fist and told him to shut up.

Then Iruka and the Third Hokage tried to explain to Naruto about the ranks and missions that certain missions went on. They tried to explain the importance of why a Genin couldn't do any other missions other than the D ranked missions but it was pretty boring. Even Gaara thought so. He had heard this lecture before from Iruka. So he decided to turn his attention onto Naruto who was now going into details about what ramen he had eaten lately. He also heard Shukaku begin to growl within his head with annoyance. So the demon was pretty annoyed as well.

"HEY!" Iruka snapped when he realized that Naruto wasn't listening. "Pay attention!"

Naruto whirled around on his butt to face his former sensai again and slammed his heels against the tiled floor while glaring at him. "Shut up! I'm tired of being lectured by that old guy! We are Shinobi, not errand boys and girl! Give us a real mission and stop underestimating us!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "If I'm going to be Hokage someday, I NEED a challenge!"

There was a long pause before the Third smiled almost impressed. He was definitely impressed with the change of Naruto's attitude. Even Iruka had to smile as he shook his head. "Okay. If you want it that much. Let's see how you do on a Ranked C mission then." The Third said as he picked up a scroll and held it up. "A mission had just come up that you might be interested in. Usually we just let Chunin handle these kinds of missions. But we'll let you have a try." He told them before holding out the scroll towards Kakashi, who moved forward and took it from him. "The mission is to escort a visiting Bridge master from the Land of Waves back to his village. You are to protect him from bandits, if any. Do you accept?"

All of the Genin looked at one another before they nodded with a smile. Though Gaara had hesitated. He didn't like the sound of the waves part. It was obvious that this Land of the Waves was probably near a lot of water. And he still did not like water.

"We accept, Lord Hokage." Kakashi said as soon as he saw all of his students nod. The Third Hokage just nodded as he puffed on his pipe then waved a hand towards an assistant. He paused to look over at her before waving again. "Show in the Bridge master." He told her. The assistant nodded before leaving the room.

A few minutes later, the door slid open and an elderly man wearing a large rice hat entered the room, obviously drunk. His hair was white and he wore brown clothing but his eyes were red rimmed. He also had a sake bottle in his hand to prove that he was drunk. He took one look at the Genin and grimaced, obviously not impressed with what he saw. It was the look as if he had seen something pathetic or disgusting.

"Hell. What's with the brats? Especially with the short one. He's got a very dumb look about 'em." He grumbled.

Naruto started laughing, as if it was the funniest joke. He began to look between him and his three team mates. "Hey! Who's the short one?! Heh, heh, he...heh..." He froze when he realized that he was the shortest one out of all four of the young Shinobi. Even Gaara was taller than him and he was the youngest. Immediately, Naruto snapped. His face went red with rage and he glared at the old man. "Argh! Let me at 'em! I'll kill him!" He roared as he tried to lunge at the Bridge master.

But Kakashi caught the back of his jacket and held him back. "No, Naruto. What's the point of killing the person we're suppose to protect." He told him, though it didn't do any good. Especially with the way the old man was looking at Gaara next.

"And what's with the carrot top?" the man added. "He looks like someone's punched his eyes. And he sure is scrawny. What've you been feeding these kids? He's sure stupid looking too."

Naruto really blew up, even though Gaara rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to over react like his friend was. This old man was only making a mistake of underestimating him. "DON'T MAKE FUN OF GAARA, YOU OLD BASTARD!" Naruto yelled as he tried even harder to get at the old man to rip him apart. But of course, Kakashi kept a firm hold on the back of his jacket while sighing and shaking his head.

Not more than two hours later, Team Seven was ready to go. They had packed their supply bags and were now stepping outside the Konoha gates. Gaara's things were actually packed away in his gourd, which got a weird look from the Bridge master, whose name was Tazuna. But he completely ignored the old man. His thoughts were only on the mission. This would be the second time he had passed through the gates, at least that he knew of. The first time had been when Jiraiya took him to go see his mother's grave for the first time and now, he was going on a mission. But this time, he was going beyond the river.

Beside him, Naruto was extremely excited. He was bouncing on his heels and looking around with bright eyes. This would be his first time leaving Konoha. So he couldn't help it. But as he was in his excitement, Tazuna was starting to look like he was having second thoughts about this. He started questioning Kakashi if he was going to be safe around the energetic blonde, and that really pissed Naruto off. And to make things worst, when Naruto demanded respect from Tazuna because he was going to be Hokage, the old man blew him off.  
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Naruto yelled as he tried to rush the old man.

However, Kakashi caught him by the back of his jacket again and held him back. "I said no, you moron." He said with a sigh.

Finally, they were on their way, traveling down a long road in silence, though Naruto was still steaming from the disrespect from Tazuna. Gaara wasn't fond of him either but he tolerated him. He just figured that the old man was just a grumpy person who always drank. He was always carrying around his sake bottle. Somehow the conversation got into talking about other ninja from other Hidden Villages but Gaara really wasn't listening. He was thinking about what was going to happen on the mission. He wondered exactly if there would be any sort of enemies they would have fight to protect the old geezer. He almost sweat dropped to think that they wouldn't. If this was going to be another lame mission, he was going to be angry.

But then Kakashi mentioned something about the Hidden Village in the Sand.

That got Gaara's attention. He blinked out of his thoughts and started listening to Kakashi talk a little about it, while his eye was flickering over to the red head. He wondered why that Kakashi was looking at him like that. Maybe it was because he mentioned sand.

"So there are more ninja like us?" Sakura asked sounding only a little concerned. "We won't have to face any of them, will we?"

Kakashi chuckled as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and patted the pink haired girl on the head. "Not on this mission. If we do end up fighting, it'll only be against bandits. Nothing you guys can't handle." He told him pleasantly. Sakura looked relieved while the three boys looked annoyed. They would have rather faced enemy ninja, so that they could test their techniques against them. Naruto was grumbling how that he wanted to fight other ninja too. But Gaara, on the other hand, frowned when he saw Tazuna wince and look away. He watched the old man suspiciously, now figuring that he was hiding something. The red head was now starting to get a bad vibe, as if something was going to happen. He knew that Tazuna had not informed them of everything. Gaara paused when he saw Sasuke also looking at Tazuna suspiciously. So it was obvious he caught on too.

It was quiet for a long moment as they kept walking down the path. Gaara was still watching Tazuna carefully while thinking hard about the mission. He didn't like it. There was something the old man was hiding. What was it? Was there something more than what he had told them about? The red head didn't like the deception at all. But he wasn't going to voice his opinion. When did he ever anyway?

As he walked, he became aware of the feeling that there were eyes on him. He couldn't help but look around the forest, almost waiting for an attack. He wasn't sure where the feeling was coming from, but it was there.

Just then, he heard a gentle splash and then felt water fall onto his foot. He looked down to see that he had just stepped into a puddle. For a long moment he stared at it before stepping out of the puddle and going around it. But he stopped from moving any farther away. He didn't remember there ever being any rainfall in the last few days. Where had this water come from? It was a little suspicious. Maybe some traveling had dropped a canteen of water. But then again, wouldn't the earth have absorbed it by now? Gaara didn't like this.

However, before he could move closer to investigate, a hand dropped down onto his shoulder. He tensed for a moment as his head jerked around and looked up at Kakashi, who was obviously smiling under his mask. "Come on, Gaara. We need to keep up with Mr. Tazuna." He told him.

"Kakashi…" Gaara began but was being steered away from the puddle anyway.

Kakashi just shook his head as he pushed Gaara ahead of him, not bothering to argue with the boy. He just kept the boy moving. Gaara frowned before looking over his shoulder back at the puddle and for the briefest second, he thought he saw a shadow pass over the water. Frowning more sternly, the red head looked forward and walked on, all the while, now letting a tiny trail of sand fall from his gourd.

And as the Konoha Shinobi walked away with their client, a lump of black rose out of the puddle of water.

Gaara heard the clink first from behind them, or at least he thought he did. He jerked around to spy whatever it was that made that sound but was roughly shoved out of the way by Kakashi as a sharp chain fell around him, pinning his arms to his sides. Two strange ninja all in black were holding the ends of the chain and were starting to pull it tight.

Like the others, Gaara was alarmed by what just happened. It had happened way too fast. But even worst, Kakashi was trapped and by the looks of it, he was getting sawed in three by the chain.

"Kakashi-sensai!" Both Naruto and Sakura gasped.

The two black ninja smirked evilly through their masks. Gaara didn't need to see their entire face to see them. He knew what was about to happen. But before he could jump to his feet and rush to Kakashi's aid, the ninja yanked on the chain hard. "One little piggy."

The chain sliced right through Kakashi, sending body parts flying everywhere. The four young Shinobi and the old man gasped in shock and horror but they really didn't have time to just gawk at the massacre. The black ninja were moving again. The smallest one of the two was leaping through the air now, moving towards Naruto, to make him a victim just like Kakashi. "Two little piggies."

Suddenly Sasuke was moving now. He yanked out his kunai and shruiken, throwing it hard at the chain as he was charging forward. He wasn't the only one moving forward though. There was a loud chink as the shruiken and kunai caught the chain from reaching Naruto and trapped it against a tree. The ninja pair yelped in surprise as they came to a sudden stop by their trapped chain. But they didn't have time to just stare either. Their heads jerked over when Sasuke jumped up onto their arms, where the chain were connected together. With all his might, he kicked them hard sending them flying in different directions and shattering their chains. Sasuke grunted in satisfaction as he flipped over his head and landed in a crouch in between the two.

However, as their chain had been severed, this gave them more room to move around. They were jumping into swift action, moving in different directions.

One charged at an alarmed Naruto while the other was moving towards Sakura and Tazuna.

The pink haired girl half shrieked, half gasped as she yanked out her kunai and thrust it forward as the ninja moved closer. She was going to try and stand her ground, though she wasn't sure how well that would work. "Stay back, Mr. Bridge Master!" She cried before drew back in fear as the ninja nearly phased right in front of her, throwing his own kunai towards her. She shrieked as she tried to jump back, knocking the old man over in the process.

But before the blade could strike her or Tazuna, they hit a solid golden-tan colored wall.

Alarmed, the ninja leapt back and looked up at the wall of sand barricading his path to the girl and old man. Then he saw that the sand was connected to something so he turned his head to see that Gaara was standing near by with the sand pouring out of his gourd. And the murderous look on the red head's face was not a good sight. If looks could kill, this ninja would be dead a thousand times over.

Gaara lashed out another one of his hands, sending the sandy wall flying at the black ninja and knocking him off his feet. The sand, however, did not let him fall to the ground but lift him up a foot off the ground while wrapping around him. It became rather tight around him though, pinning his arms to his sides. The black ninja groaned in pain as the sand began to crush him, his dark eyes immediately looking over at Gaara.

"Let's see how you like it." Gaara said rather coldly.

Then the red head rose his hand and began to squeeze it into a ball, which caused the sand to really start crushing the ninja. There were a few pops and cracks from the ninja's bones before he yelled out in pain and panic. He knew he was about to be crushed to death.

"Gaara, don't do that." Came Kakashi's calm and collected voice.

Immediately, Gaara released his hold on the sand, though kept the ninja trapped inside it while he looked over to see that he had the other ninja in a tight head lock. But he was unconscious. Naruto was sitting on the ground behind him with scratches and blood on his hand. He was hurt a little but he looked all right.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, that I didn't save you in time. I got you injured. I didn't know you were going to freeze up like that." Kakashi said before looking at Sasuke, Sakura and Gaara. "Good work, Sasuke, Gaara. You too, Sakura." The silver-white haired Jounin said before looking around at Naruto, who was staring down at his bloody hand. "Naruto, save it for later. Their claws are soaked in poison. We have to remove it quickly. We'll have to open up the wound to release the poison blood from your body. So don't move too much." He stopped for a moment to look dryly at the old man. "Mr. Tazuna."

"What is it?" The grumpy man said moodily.

Kakashi shook his head as he just gave the old man a dark look. "I need to talk to you." He then went over to a tree, motioning to Gaara to bring the other one over. Gaara was staring at Naruto with concern. He wanted to go over and help his blonde friend but right now they needed to take care of the enemy. So he went to the tree. As soon as they had both of the ninja together, Kakashi tied them up to the tree, trapping them there. When restrained, they saw that the two ninja were wearing Shinobi headbands.

The symbols; Mist.

Kakashi stepped back with the others, looking seriously at the ninja who were glaring at the Jounin and his students. He only frowned as he just stared at them. "These look like ninja from the Hidden Village in the Mist." He announced. "These ninja are known to continue fighting no matter what."

"How did you our movements?" The older Mist Shinobi asked darkly.

Kakashi shook his head as he looked at him through a narrowed eye. He took a breath before glancing over to Gaara. "On a sunny day like this when it hasn't rained in days, there's not going to be a puddle in the forest. Besides, Gaara, here, stepped in the puddle. I'm pretty that hurt, even if you were just a puddle of water. I heard one of you groan and saw the black of your hair." He explained. He chuckled when the smaller one winced as he glanced upwards at his forhead where there was a mark. So obviously it had been him that Gaara stepped on.

"if you knew that, why did you let the brats fight?" Tazuna asked grumpily.

But Gaara really wasn't listening anymore. He just stood back, thinking to himself while also glaring at the old man. He knew that the old man had been the target. And eventually Kakashi thought so too because he said it. But as he was talking to him, the red head heard one of the ninja breath sharply.

"…you…." Spoke the one, the big one, that he had nearly crushed to death with sand. "…I know about you. They said that you were dead…..that the girl….had…" He paused when Gaara looked directly at him, not looking interested at all in what he had to say. "…I wonder what they will say when they find out….that she lied about you."

"…..?" Gaara hummed before moving closer to the ninja in black. "Who and what are you talking about? If you have something to say to me, say it now." He said dryly. He didn't know what this ninja was talking about but it was better to find out than leave him in the dark. The ninja, however, chuckled darkly. Then he looked up into the boy's teal eyes with his ebony black ones. "They. The ones who seek for you. The ninja in black and red." He told him.

That really got Gaara's attention. He remembered seeing ninja in black and red in his dreams but were they real people? Were they ones who killed his parents? The red head really wanted to find out so he moved forward a few steps. "Who? Who are these men in black and red? Did they kill my mother?" He asked darkly.

That now caught Kakashi's attention, even though Gaara had said it under his breath for the Mist ninja to only hear. He whirled around on his heel while Sakura was badgering Naruto about stabbing his hand with his kunai after finding out that there was poison on the blades the ninja used to hurt him. Gaara didn't see him though. His eyes were only on the Mist ninja sitting before him. The ninja chuckled darkly as he just looked right at the red haired boy. But then he looked away from Gaara, past him before he was still for a few mounts. Then his eyes drooped and he was out cold.

Annoyed, Gaara reached for him, to try and wake him back up so he could demand answers. But then a hand dropped down onto his shoulder. "Don't bother." Kakashi said as he moved forward. "He's dead. He stopped his own heart. He's trained to do that, to kill himself if he gets caught by the enemy."

"…" Gaara hummed impatiently before turning around and paused. He could have sworn that he saw Kakashi pulling down his forehead protector back over his left eye. But he hid it by looking away thoughtfully towards Tazuna and starting to get more information from him.

Later, Gaara found out what Tazuna had said earlier and he was in a fouler mood at this old man. He really felt like killing him for lying to them. Apparently, from what he said, he told them that there was a wealthy business man who wanted to kill him and keep him from completing a bridge from the island he lived on and the main land. He tried to apologize to them for leading them on. And then the old fart tried to guilt trip them, saying how that if they didn't help him now, he would die and his daughter and grandson would forever blame the Shinobi of Konoha and hate them for the rest of their lives.

Problem was, it worked.

So now, Team Seven was continuing on their mission, watching their surroundings very carefully as they went. Especially Kakashi. Because of the situation, he knew that his young students were not ready for a B or A ranked mission. He would have to be on his constant guard, waiting for someone to attack.

When they finally made camp near the water where they would be crossing the next day, Gaara tried to sit as far as he could away from the water, while eyeing it with distaste. The others, of course, noticed but none of them said anything. The other Shinobi knew why he didn't like the water. Tazuna, on the other hand, was curious. He wasn't aware of why the boy didn't like water. He decided he would ask later when they were starting to settle down. But not only he would learn something new about Gaara. Something that none of them ever knew about.

"All right. In the morning, we will be taking a boat to the Mr. Tazuna's village. It's the only way to cross this body of water, Gaara. So try and relax." Kakashi said when Gaara made a face. He ignored the forlorn look he got from the boy while he unrolled his sleeping mat. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke glanced over at their comrade with a little pity but they chose not to say anything.

But Tazuna just chuckled as he laid down on his side. "What, you afraid to get your feet wet, kid?" He asked, with amusement.

Gaara's face darkened as he shot the old man a dirty look but then looked away. He did not want to explain anything to the man. He was still very sour towards him because of his deception. Kakashi, however, just shook his head as he stretched out on his sleeping mat and pulled out his Icha Icha book. "Gaara, Mr. Bridge builder," He began carefully. "is unable to swim. He's never been able to, nor can he be taught to swim."

"Huh? Are you pullin' my leg? Any kid can swim if they're taught." Tazuna said frowning at the Jounin.

Kakashi shook his head without glancing at the old man or his young red haired student. He even ignored the looks from the other three as well. They knew that Gaara couldn't swim but they really thought he could be taught. "Not Gaara. He will never be able to swim. He is somewhat like his sand. When wet, he sinks. He can't swim and has a good reason to not liking the water." He shrugged thoughtfully as he kept his eye on the book. "The main reason why he's apart of this team is because he is bright and quite strong. His techniques are quite useful when we're on land. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke too. Don't doubt their abilities. They will only surprise you." He told the old man when he finally looked over at him. "Anyway, we should get some sleep. We will be setting out early."

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura nodded as they made their way towards their sleeping mats but then paused when they saw that Gaara was not joining them. In fact, he hadn't even set up his own mat. He was just sitting next to the fire, staring into the dancing flames.

"Hey, Gaara. Come on. We need to get some sleep." Naruto said as he went over and placed a hand onto his best friend's shoulder.

Gaara only glanced at him before looking towards the dark sky at the splinter of moon. He stared at it for a minute before shaking his head and went back to staring into the flames. "Get some sleep, Naruto. I'm going to be sitting up tonight to watch camp." He told him.

"Gaara, you need your sleep too." Sakura spoke up as she sat up on her mat.

Again, Gaara glanced at her before looking back into the flames. He did not want to explain to his team mates and the old man about his condition. "Don't worry about me. Just get some sleep." He said impatiently.

"But….." Naruto began.

Now Kakashi looked over at the young blonde. "Naruto, if you must know. Gaara doesn't sleep very much. He hardly ever does. He has a bad case of Insomnia. Why do you think he has dark circles around his eyes in the first place? It's because he hardly ever sleeps. He can't even if he tried. It's all in his file so that's how I know." He said as he closed his book. "Now just listen to him and get some sleep." He told them. Then he rolled over to fall asleep. Slowly, one by one, everyone laid down on their mats, while looking towards the red haired Genin. It had come as a surprise to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura that Gaara couldn't sleep. Especially to the blonde. He had known Gaara for years now but he had never even questioned him about why he had dark circles around his eyes. But now he knew.

"Heh. Can't swim. Can't sleep. You sure are some kind of troubled kid, aren't yeh?" Tazuna asked as he stared at Gaara. Gaara didn't take his words to offense at all. Instead, he snorted darkly as he continued to stare at the flames. "You have no idea, Bridge master, of how truly troubled I am." He muttered before going very quiet for the rest of the night.

By morning, everyone was rested and refreshed, with the exception of Gaara. The boat had arrived some time before sun up and soon everyone was sitting in the boat, crossing the body of water. It had taken a while for Gaara to get into the boat though, so they almost lost a half an hour of daylight because of how long he stayed away from it. When he had tried to get in before, he had panicked when the boat started rocking and had tried to jump right back out. However, before he even could get out, Kakashi grabbed a hold of him and forced him to sit down before he tied a blind fold around Gaara's eyes. "Just settle down, Gaara. I won't let you fall into the water." The Jounin said as he sat next to him. The blindfold helped a little. Just as long as he didn't get splashed by water.

While they were going, Tazuna explained why they were building the bridge and why the business man, Gatou didn't want him to finish the bridge. Gaara tried to listen but it wasn't because he could hear the waves splashing against the boat as they went so he decided to try and close his ears so he couldn't hear anything anymore. He heard the boatman growling at Naruto for being loud but then everyone went quiet for a long time. Then after a while, the sunlight touched Gaara's face and Sakura gasped beside him. He tensed a little bit but then tilted his head. He wondered why she was gasping like that. Was there something wrong?

His answer soon came when Kakashi pulled the blindfold off.

Gaara winced at the bright sunlight but after blinking several times, he was surprised to see a pretty little village hidden behind the bridge. It was in some kind of cove and the village was built on the water with trees growing out of the water and all around it. It was a beautiful sight to see. Even for Gaara. He was too distracted by the sight to notice that he was still in the boat.

Moments later, Team Seven and their client were climbing out of the boat onto the docks. Gaara felt a huge wave of relief roll right over him once he was off the water. It did help quite a bit to be back on solid ground again. He never wanted to be on water again. Kakashi made sure everyone was in check, he started to lead them into the forest. No one said a thing as they walked down the forest path. All of them were on their guard. They did not want to let their guard down at all and get attacked again. Gaara's teal colored eyes look around wearily but paused when he saw Naruto also trying to look alerted, but looking weird by doing it. He kept spinning around and jerking his head around but then he yanked out a shuriken and threw it hard into bushes. "There!" He shouted, making everyone jump and tense up.

There was a long pause as everyone waited for something to happen before Naruto laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh. Just a rat." He laughed, trying to be cool.

Everyone sweat dropped as they glared at Naruto. Even Gaara sweat dropped as he stared at his best friend. He couldn't believe Naruto for being such a blockhead and then acting so cool about it.

"Stop trying to act cool! There was nothing there!" Sakura yelled at Naruto. Kakashi just waved his hands towards Naruto while looking nervous. "Hey…please stop using shuriken. It's seriously dangerous." He said uneasily.

However, Tazuna was shaking a little while holding onto his chest. He obviously couldn't take too many surprises. He was an old man after all. "Hey! Midget! Stop acting like a moron! You almost gave me a heart attack!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Gaara and Sasuke just sighed and shook their heads as they watched Naruto jump into an alert mode again and look frantically around as if he heard something again.

But then again, both Kakashi and Gaara heard it too. The bushes were rustling.

"There!" Naruto yelled again as he threw another shuriken into the bushes again. There was a loud thunk as the spinning blade hit the tree behind the bushes. However, Sakura went up to Naruto and punched him hard over the head. "I said stop!" She yelled at him, making him yelp in pain.

"Somebody is after us, I swear!" Naruto cried. But Sakura didn't believe him, of course.

However, Kakashi and Gaara both moved over to the bushes anyway, just to check. They knew they both had heard something too. So there must have been something there. And when Kakashi pushed back the bushes to see what it was, it was only a snowy white hare with the shuriken right above its head. It was tramatized from getting a blade throw at it.

"Naruto! What have you done?!" Sakura yelled in rage.

Naruto gasped when he saw the rabbit before quickly moving forward and picked it up to hug it. "AHHH! I'm so sorry, bunny! I didn't mean it!" He cried with tears running down his cheeks now. Sasuke just shook his head as he and Tazuna just watched. Gaara was frowning as he looked the rabbit over with a sweat drop. 'That's it? It was just a rabbit? How pathetic.' He thought.

'Careful, brat. If you hadn't noticed, it's white. Rabbits are only white during the winter. This is spring.' Shukaku pointed out inside his head.

That made Gaara blink as he stared at the rabbit with realization. He remembered that. Rabbits were white during the winter and were brown in the spring. That just made him more tense as he turned around to tell that to Kakashi. But the look on his sensei's face told him that he already knew that. He knew that they were being watched by someone.

Suddenly there was a low whoosh sound and rustling through the bushes and trees, making Gaara jerk around. The warning snarl from Shukaku also alerted him that there was an attack coming. The sound of something slicing through the air followed the whooshing noise.

"Everyone! Get down!" Kakashi yelled as he threw himself to the ground.

upwards.


	8. Chapter Eight

"Everyone! Get down!" Kakashi yelled as he threw himself to the ground.

Quickly, Gaara threw himself to the forest floor just as the large sword passed right over his head, but clanged loudly as it bounced right off of his gourd, sending the blade flying off to another tree.

THUD!

Everyone was quickly on their feet as soon as the sword struck the tree, looking up at it only to see it embedded deep in the branch and there was a large man standing on the handle. He was huge compared to Gaara. He wore no shirt but white and blue striped pants with black, green and tan arm and leg warmers. There was only one suspender down the front. Around the bottom half of his face were wrapped bandages, hiding his identity. His Shinobi headband was on the side of his head.

However, just by the sight of him had Gaara frozen. He did not know this man. He had never seen him in his life. But there was a look in his eye that held the young Genin frozen in his tracks. A desire of blood. Because of that look, Shukaku was going wild with bloodlust.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Hidden Mist's Missing-Nin, Zabuza Momochi." Kakashi suddenly spoke up.

And that was when Naruto bolted forward, ready to fight. Gaara wanted to stop him. He knew that this Shinobi was dangerous. He could feel it within his own body. Shukaku was so excited and it scared him. The Sand Demon never got excited unless there was blood being spilt. He had even stirred when Naruto cut his own hand. 'Naruto, no.' Gaara thought.

But Kakashi quickly placed a hand right before the blonde, stopping him right in his tracks. "Everyone, get back." He said sounding very serious. Gaara blinked and looked up at his sensei, seeing the stern look in his eye. He remembered that look from the Survival Test. But there was something more there. "This one's on a whole other level." Kakashi added as he slowly reached up and touched his headband, grabbing it. "Against him…." He paused."…It will be a little tough…unless I do this…."

"Hmm." Came a deep chuckle from the so called Missing Ninja as he turned his head and looked down at Kakashi. "Impressive. I was sure I'd chop the old man in half. Maybe even the red haired brat. But that gourd saved his life." The ninja spoke with a very deep and rough voice. It was enough to make Gaara shudder. "…..Kakashi of the Sharingan…..sorry, but the old man is mine."

Gaara blinked with the other three with surprise. Though Sasuke looked more shocked than surprised. He was looking at Kakashi with alarm as if he knew what the ninja was talking about. The others, Gaara, Naruto, Sakura and Tazuna had not a clue as they looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi just dipped his head a little as he slowly began to pull up his forehead protector. "Surround and protect Tazuna." He suddenly ordered, sounding very serious. "Do not enter this fight. This is my fight. Zabuza first….." And he pulled his forehead protector up to his forehead, revealing his left eye. "Fight me."

To everyone's surprise, there was a long scar running over Kakashi's left eye. But the eye was not sliced through as Gaara thought it had been the second he saw the scar. No, instead, it was entirely different from his other eye. It wasn't a dark brown eye. It was red and black. Something that haunted Gaara's dreams whenever he did dream. It was an eye from his nightmares. He felt as if someone had kicked him so hard in the chest that he could not breath as he saw.

'…Th-that eye…..!' He thought.

Above them, Zabuza Momochi just chuckled darkly as he turned around and faced them, looking right into the left red and black eye of Kakashi Hatake. "Ah. I already get to see the famous Sharingan. I'm seriously honored."

Gaara just stared at Kakashi with wide eyes, at the strange red and black eye. Why did it look so familiar?! He knew he had never seen Kakashi's eye before. So why did he suddenly see it in his own memory?

"Sharingan! Sharingan! What the hell is that?!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed.

Gaara couldn't find himself to look over at his best friend. He just stared directly at Kakashi's eye. But he sensed Sasuke moving forward a step and could already see the stunned but confused look on his face as he spoke. "Sharingan….it is said that some have the ability in their eyes to read and defeat all types of Gen, Tai and Nin-jutsu." He explained in a low voice but for all to hear. "The Sharingan is one of the types of pupil that gives you this power. But that's not the only ability the Sharingan has."

"Huh?!" Naruto asked in confusion.

Zabuza just chuckled darkly as he looked down at Kakashi in a dark way. "He, he. Exactly. That's not all….What's even scarier is…that you can copy your opponent's techniques once you see them." He spoke in a very dark way as he tilted his head to the side. "When I was a member of the Hidden Mist's assassin team….I kept a handbook. It included information on you, Kakashi. And this is what it said…the man who has copied over a 1,000 Jutsu….Copy Ninja Kakashi."

That stunned the four Genin and the old man to hear that. Gaara had not known that Kakashi had that many jutsu. All just because of that nightmarish eye? He knew that Kakashi was good, but was he seriously that good? He still didn't understand.

"Now…" Zabuza spoke up as he slowly lowered himself to a crouch and grabbed the handle of his large sword. "Let's end all the talking. I have to kill that old man."

Before he could move, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were in front of Tazuna, standing in a protective stance with their kunai out. The only one who hadn't moved was Gaara. He was still frozen, staring at Kakashi's Sharingan eye. He couldn't even find his will to move.

"Hey! Gaara! We're suppose to protect the old geezard!" Naruto called to him, frowning.

Gaara didn't move but just stared directly at Kakashi. He didn't even seem to hear Naruto calling to him. Kakashi dipped his head before turning his head away from Gaara, so that he couldn't see the red and black eye anymore. He seemed to figure out what was wrong. "Gaara, just don't look at my eye and you'll be fine." He said as he kept his head tilted away from the young red head.

Blinking, Gaara snapped out of his stupor. He shook his head before his mouth closed firmly and he folded his arms as he stood tall now. He didn't know why Kakashi's Sharingan had such an effect him like that but he knew it wasn't good for him to see the eye. So he just looked at Zabuza. He gave a nod to Kakashi to let him know that he was ready now.

"….Hmm. Kakashi….it seems I have to beat you first." Zabuza said before he sharply kicked off the tree, yanking his blade free and jumping several feet before the Leaf Shinobi. He landed on top of the nearby river's surface and shockingly to everyone, he was standing on the surface.

"Over there!" Naruto yelped in shock.

"And on top of the water!" Sakura stated the obvious.

Zabuza was standing straight with one hand raised above his head and the other in front of him. Both of his hands were forming identical signs. So he was performing a jutsu of some sort. "Ninpou….Hidden Mist Jutsu." His rough voice traveled over to the Genin.

And he vanished in thin air.

All four Genin tensed as they looked at the river where the enemy ninja had been a moment ago. Gaara carefully looked around, his teeth clenched tightly. He knew that Zabuza was still there. He could still feel the threat in the air. He felt as if there was a knife right at his throat already.

"He's gone!" Sakura yelped.

Gaara glanced side-wards at her, seeing that she looked somewhat relieved but he shook his head when her emerald green eyes flickered in his direction. Kakashi just dipped his head lower as he narrowed his eyes. "He'll come after me first." He announced. "Zabuza Momochi…as a member of the Hidden Mist…he was known as an expert in silent killing. You don't even notice him until you're already dead." He shook his head. "It's not like I can use the Sharingan perfectly. You guys be careful."

Just then, all around the Shinobi and the old man, a growing mist was starting to swirl around them, making all of them turn sharply to look around. The mist was just coming in out of no where. And worst, it was getting thicker by the second.

"The mist is getting thicker!" Naruto exclaimed as he jerked his head around, trying to see through it. Gaara just frowned seriously as he slowly looked around through the whisps of white. He couldn't see a thing, but he sure sensed something. He knew that Zabuza was close by. His arms tightening around him, he slowly looked around.

"Eight choices….." they suddenly heard Zabuza's voice, making all look around nervously. "Liver, lungs, spine. Clavical vein, neck vein, brain….." Then came his dark chuckle, which sounded awfully close. "Which one should I go for?"

Gaara tensed when he heard Zabuza's voice. It sounded so threatening and there was a heavy feeling of blood lust in the air. It was so thick that the red haired boy felt a cold sweat roll down his back. His head was starting to throb by Shukaku's desert storm in his head. The demon was too excited and it was pushing hard for control now. Gaara winced a little as he dropped his arms and reached up with one hand, touching the mark on his forehead. It was hurting rather badly now. It was too much.

"Sasuke! Gaara!" Kakashi suddenly said making them both blink and glance at one another. They almost had the same look of anxiety on their faces. But then they looked at Kakashi who tilted his head a little. "Don't worry. I'll protect you guys even if it kills me." He turned his head and had a look as if he was smiling. His Sharingan eye was closed so it didn't bother Gaara. "I won't let my comrades die. Trust me."

Feeling slightly better, Gaara dipped his head as his hand dropped, though he could still hear Shukaku still growling within his head. The demon wasn't growling for control anymore. Instead, it was a warning.

"Hmm. We'll see about that." Came Zabuza's cold voice. Only this time, it was directly right behind Gaara.

Gaara's eyes snapped wide open and he jerked around with shock. Zabuza was in crouched between him and the others around Tazuna, but he was close enough to just swing that big sword and slice right through Gaara, his friends and the old man, ending his mission with one mighty swing. And he was already starting to swing.

"It's over." Zabuza said coldly.

Gaara tried to jump back while throwing his hand out towards Zabuza, sending sand flying from his gourd. He had to stop the enemy ninja before they were all sliced in half. He had to capture him within his sand and maybe crush him to death.

But he stopped.

For Kakashi leapt into the path and thrust a kunai into Zabuza's side, stopping the sword from hurting anyone. He somehow had thrown Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and Mr. Tazuna out of the way during the process while he rammed into the Mist Ninja. Gaara and the other Genin stood up, looking at their sensei and enemy as they stood still but then the red head realized something. Zabuza was not bleeding red. He was bleeding water. And then he saw Zabuza suddenly appear right behind Kakashi, swinging his large sword at his back.

"Sensei!" Naruto roared. "Behind you!"

But it was too late. The sword struck right through Kakashi….only to have him explode into water, himself just like the Zabuza Water clone did. The very action seemed to surprise the Mist Ninja though. He froze for a mid second before the real Kakashi appeared behind him and stuck his kunai right under Zabuza's throat.

"It's over." Kakashi said coolly as he stood right behind Zabuza.

There was a moment's pause before Naruto and Sakura smiled brightly as they looked excited. Gaara just straightened, his face still rather hard due to that he didn't get to use any of his own skills. But either way, it was over. But still, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"He, he, he." Zabuza started chuckling darkly, making the smiles on Naruto and Sakura's faces vanish. It even sent a chill down Gaara's back. "It's over?" The Mist Ninja added. "You don't get it. There's no way you can defeat me with your monkey-like imitations."

Kakashi frowned at the enemy, sternly.

However, Zabuza continued. He just chuckled in low voice as he tilted his head. "But that was impressive of you. At that time…you already copied my Water Clone jutsu…" He announced. "You had your clone say those words…to attract my attention while the real you hid in the mist and watched me. Nice plan."

Kakashi only kept frowning at him with a stern look in his eyes. Gaara could see he was trying to think of whatever Zabuza was getting at. There was something in the Mist Ninja's tone that the red head didn't like. A hidden meaning. That was something Kakashi always told his four students. Always look towards the hidden meaning.

"But…." Zabuza paused before he suddenly appeared right behind Kakashi, startling all of them. "I'm also not that easy."

Gaara frowned when he saw him. He was just as surprised as everyone else but he knew Kakashi could handle this. He was a Jounin, just as Zabuza was. He had to be better than the Mist Ninja. Everyone watched as the Mist Ninja began swinging his huge sword at Kakashi. Both Naruto and Sakura were fidgeting with antsy looks on their faces, hopping up and down. Sasuke just gritted his teeth while clutching his kunai while Gaara just glared at the fight with his arms folded tightly over his chest. He was having quite the time on keeping Shukaku at ease. He watched as Kakashi quickly ducked under the swinging blade, crouching so low to the ground that it seemed impossible that he was that flexible.

The power that Zabuza swung with his sword sent himself spinning off balance, but it didn't stop him from using it to his own advantage. He quickly spun in a circle and slammed his foot into Kakashi, sending him flying away from him. He charged after him though, dragging his huge sword.

But suddenly, he stopped.

Gaara saw why he skidded to a stop. Right between him and Kakashi were Makibishi, also known as throwing nails. So this Mist Ninja was a cautious man too. This would make things difficult for Kakashi.

"Foolish." Zabuza simply said before leaping clean over the nails, towards the river where Kakashi crashed into the water. That wasn't good.

Especially when Kakashi came up out of the water and Zabuza was right behind him, forming a sign. He stiffened before whirling around only to have water swirl around him, trapping him in a sphere of water. By the looks of it, he couldn't move.

Gaara froze with confusion. By the looks of this trap, it was very similar one of the jutsu that Shukaku was trying to make him do. So this was some kind of prison jutsu. Worst, Zabuza turned his attention on the Genin and Tazuna, forming a sign, the sign of a clone. And sure enough, a Water Clone of Zabuza rose up out of the river and moved towards them. Gaara, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke tensed up, backing up a step with Tazuna. They knew they were in for a fight. Gaara just rose a hand, ready to attack him with his sand if he had to.

Zabuza chuckled darkly as he looked at the Genin. That look in his eyes was the most unpleasant look that Gaara had ever seen. Not like the one that Mizuki had given him when he threatened him and Naruto for protecting Iruka several months ago. This one was more dangerous. "He, he, wearing forehead protectors and acting like real ninja." He said in a dark tone. "But you know what? A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death. Basically….once your good enough to be listed in my handbook, then you can start calling yourself a ninja…You guys should not even be referred to as ninjas." He said as he rose a hand and mist swirled around him, then he vanished.

Gaara blinked in surprise and alert but before he or the others had the chance to do anything, Zabuza appeared again right next to Naruto and lashed out a foot at him. His foot slammed into the blonde's face, sending him flying backwards several feet, crashing and rolling across the rough ground.

"Naruto!" Both Sasuke and Sakura yelled in alarm.

But Gaara snapped. Seeing his best friend get kicked like that, seeing blood fall from the air from right where Naruto had been, his eyes darkened and the beast inside him roared with fiery rage. And it wasn't Shukaku. It was himself.

'Are you going to let him get away with that?' mused Shukaku, knowingly.

Gaara's head dipped down as he glared hatefully at the Zabuza Water Clone before he turned his body a little, as if he was about to start running. "No." He said darkly out loud, then he bolted forward with sand flying form his gourd. His actions were noticed immediately.

"Gaara! NO!" Kakashi yelled from his watery prison.

Both Sakura and Sasuke whirled around with alarm, looking at him with wide eyes while Naruto flipped around onto his butt, looking at his friend with fear. He knew what Gaara was trying to do.

Zabuza, on the other hand, merely glanced at him before smirking to himself. He seemed amused by Gaara's boldness. "Foolish brat." He muttered before lashing out to kick him next. But he would soon find that this one was not like the other one. As the red head Genin moved forward with sand whirling around him like demon wings, the Mist Ninja's foot came very close to slamming into his face next.

But a patch of hard sand stopped it from hitting Gaara.

Zabuza, the Genin and Tazuna were surprised to see the sand now protecting Gaara like that. But without a word, the Water Clone spun quickly around Gaara to hit him on the side, but again, the same results. The sand was blocking his moves. "Hmm….interesting." Both Zabuzas said as they looked at Gaara.

"My turn." Gaara said darkly as he whipped out his hand. The sand thrashed out at Zabuza, who allowed himself to be engulfed by the sand. But there was something that the young Genin had forgotten while in his rage. This was a Water Clone. As soon as the sand began to squeeze Zabuza Water Clone, it burst into water, soaking some of the sand and making it fall into wet clumps, useless to Gaara's manipulation.

"Oh, well, this change things a little." Zabuza said with dark amusement. "A Genin who can control sand." He then shook his head before kicking at the water under his feet. Instead of a small wave, a huge one stormed towards Gaara, making him jerk around as he brought up a wall of sand to protect him. The water immediately soaked the sand and all of the sand dropped down around him, making him look down at it with alarm. He rose a hand to try and pick it up but it was so heavy now. It was mere mud than sand now. And worst, he didn't have anymore sand.

"As I figured." Zabuza said as he rose a hand and another water clone appeared from the waves he had kicked at Gaara, standing in front of Gaara. The Water Clone lashed out a hand and grabbed Gaara by the neck, lifting him off the ground. And Gaara just glared at him as the Zabuza clone rose a fist to throw it into his face. "Just a brat." He muttered before punching the red head hard in the face and sending him flying to the ground with a split lip now.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelped before looking over with fear as he stood before him. He was shaking violent.

"You guys! Take Tazuna and run away! Just run! You have no chance of beating him!" Kakashi yelled to the Genin, looking at Gaara as he was violently shaking on the ground below Zabuza. "Just run! As long as he's keeping me trapped in this prison, he can't move! The water clone cannot go very far from his real body! So just run away now!" He ordered.

Naruto seemed to have gotten the point of his words because he whirled around to bolt away from the Zabuza. But the wound on his hand throbbed painfully making him wince and look down at his hand with a thoughtful frown. He seemed to be remembering something. It was his promise from when he stabbed his hand with his kunai. His oath of pain.

Gaara was having a hard time himself trying to get to his feet. His face was aching a little from getting kicked so hard by the Mist ninja. But it just made things worst when Shukaku was now trying to push himself forward, trying to gain control. 'No! I don't need your help!'

'Shut up, brat! If I don't take over now, you are going to die and if you die, I die! And I'm not about to let you kill us for being weak!'

Gaara just gritted his teeth as he fought the demon back but then Zabuza the Water Clone slammed his foot onto of Gaara's back, making him cry out in pain. Both Zabuzas just laughed darkly as the clone dug his heel into the Genin's spine now.

"Gaara!" whimpered Sakura as she clasped her hands together now.

Naruto, however, stood up and glared at Zabuza hatefully. His blue eyes were almost flaming as he gritted his teeth. "I won't run! And no one hurts Gaara!" He yelled before running as fast as he could towards the clone. "UAAHH!"

"NO! DON'T!" Kakashi yelled with alarm.

"Naruto! What are you thinking?!" Sakura screamed after him.

Zabuza just chuckled darkly as he turned to look at him. He shook his head before lashing out a foot and kicking Naruto hard in the chest, sending him skidding back towards Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna. But at least his foot wasn't on Gaara anymore. The Genin was still lying on the ground, breathing hard and shivering in pain on the wet sandy ground. He trembled as he forced himself to look over at Naruto, watching him as he tried to get back to his feet.

"What are you doing jumping in all by yourself! We Genin have no chance against him!" Sakura yelled at him as she glared at the blonde.

Naruto just shook his head as he managed to get to his feet. "I…..I-I….won't….let….anyone hurt….my best friend….." He grumbled before revealing what he had been after all along. His Shinobi forehead protector that had been knocked off his head. That surprised the others as they just stared at him.

"I see…." Sasuke suddenly said as he nodded. "You were after the forehead protector and trying to free Gaara."

Naruto just stood up straight, a trickle of blood running down his chin as he lift his head and looked right at Zabuza. "Hey…you eyebrowless freak…." That just got an angry growl from Zabuza. "….Put this in your handbook….The man who will one day become Hokage…" He paused as he lift his forehead protector and tied it back around his forehead. "…Leaf Village Ninja…..Naruto Uzumaki! And the one who will be right beside me….helping me protect our village….will be Gaara of the Sand!"

Everyone just stared at him with surprise but then a wave of positive energy just rolled right over the Genin and Tazuna, who was now smiling with approval. He obviously saw the side to Naruto that the blonde was trying to show all along.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said not even looking at the others. "I have a plan." He ignored the other one when he snorted with disbelief. Instead, he wiped his mouth and nodded. "Now, let's get wild."

Gaara pushed himself up to a sitting position with shaky arms while looking at his friend. His back still hurt a little from getting a foot slammed down on it but at least he could move. Zabuza was no longer looking at him and that seemed to help a little as he slowly got to his feet but not without wincing from the growing bruise on his back. He wondered what Naruto was planning and if it included him too.

"A lot of arrogance but….do you stand a chance?" Zabuza asked, with a threat there.

However, Kakashi didn't seem impressed. He had wanted them to just run but they weren't doing it. They were still going to fight. This was bad. "What are you doing?! This fight was over the moment I was caught!" He yelled at them. "Our duty is to protect Tazuna! Did you forget that?!"

All four Genin frowned at his words but then turned around and looked at Tazuna. They knew they needed to protect the old man but they also needed to free their sensei. They couldn't just leave him in his confinement. It was more than likely that if the Genin ran away with Tazuna, Zabuza would try and kill him once they were alone. "Old man…" Naruto murmured as he frowned at him.

Tazuna sighed as he lowered his head. He seemed to be thinking deeply about this. "Well…I planted this seed myself. I'm not going to now say that I desire to live so much that I'd stop you. I'm sorry guys….Go save your sensei." He said grinning. That made all four smile with determination before they turned to face Zabuza again.

"You hear that?" Sasuke asked smiling smugly.

Naruto nodded he grinned. "Are you ready? Sasuke, Gaara."

Gaara didn't smile but he dipped his head into a nod. So it did include him. He didn't know what Naruto had in plan but he had a feeling it was going to be good. "Yes, Naruto." He said in his quiet voice.

Zabuza just laughed a dark laugh before shaking his head. "You guys will never grow up." He earned an angry "WHAT?!" from Naruto but he shook his head again. "Going to keep "playing" ninja, eh? When I…When I was about your age…" He rose his hand and looked at it. "…These hands were already dyed red with blood." He said surprising the Genin.

"Devil Zabuza." Kakashi muttered.

Zabuza chuckled as he looked back at him. "Ah…So you've heard a little about it."

Kakashi only nodded in his watery prison. He had a look on his face as if he didn't want to tell his students about this but he had no choice. "Long ago, in the Hidden Mist Village, also called the Blood Mist Village….there was a final obstacle in becoming a ninja…"

"Hmm. You even know about that graduation exam…" Zabuza said chuckling darkly.

Gaara, Naruto and the others frowned as they looked between the two Jounin and wondered what they were talking about. What exam? Wasn't the Mist Village's exam like theirs? It didn't sound like it. "That exam? What's this graduation exam thing?" Naruto asked with confusion. Zabuza just laughed before he looked at them with vicious eyes. "Fights to the death between the students." He said stunning Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. Gaara was also surprised but he only frowned seriously. "Friends who have trained and eaten at the same table are pitted against each other and go at it…until one of them loses his life. These are friends who had helped each other and shared dreams…." Zabuza added. Just hearing this made Shukaku go wild inside Gaara's head. He heard Sakura whimper. But paid no mind.

"10 years ago, the Hidden Mist graduation exam….was force to change. This change came after the previous year….when the demon appeared." Kakashi said sternly. Everyone looked at him with confusion. Sakura, of course, had to ask. "Change? What change? What did this demon do?" She asked timidly. Kakashi shook his head. "Without pause or hesitation…a young boy who was not even a ninja…had killed over a hundred of the students." He told them. "That was Zabuza."

"Enough talk…" Zabuza said as he formed a sign with his hand. "It's time to…." He vanished, making all tense.

Wham!

Sasuke went flying to the ground as Zabuza hit him flat in the chest with his foot and ended up coughing up blood from the harsh hit. That made everyone tense as they flinched from seeing him hurt. Gaara was already standing up and gritting his teeth and touching his chest. He was starting to feel dizzy from seeing the blood and rage inside his head. Shukaku was not making things very easy for him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura gasped in fear and alarm.

Kakashi just gritted his teeth while fighting against the prison. He knew he needed to get out of there. His students needed him. But he couldn't get out. He tried but he couldn't. And at his efforts, Zabuza just chuckled. "….Die." He finished for his Water Clone.

Naruto just growled as he threw his hands together to form the Shadow Clone sign. With an explosion of smoke almost fifty clones appeared all around Zabuza all glaring at the Mist Ninja. "Ah. Shadow Clones." Zabuza said with a snort. "And a large amount."

"Here I come!" All of the Narutos yelled while one hurried over to Gaara and grabbed his shoulder while glaring towards the enemy. Gaara only glanced at the Naruto before turning his eyes back towards the ninja tyrant. He paused when the Naruto next to him said one word to him, "Sand." That made Gaara blink as he looked at the Clone before realizing what the blonde had in mind. All of the other Narutos were leaping at Zabuza, trying to dog pile him. However, the Zabuza Water Clone quickly grabbed his sword and swung, knocking all of the blondes and Sasuke away from him with yelps. One Naruto, possible the one himself grabbed into his bag and pulled out something, tossing it towards Sasuke. "Sasuke!" He yelled.

Sasuke threw up a hand and grabbed whatever it was, a large fan shuriken. His eyes widened as soon as he caught it before he leapt to his feet. He closed his eyes for a brief second before snapping them wide open and glaring at Zabuza. "Evil Wind Shuriken, Shadow Windmill!" He yelled before leaping into the sky and threw it hard towards Zabuza.

"Heh! A Shuriken won't work against me." Zabuza said smugly as he readied himself for the rapidly spinning weapon coming at him.

But, it went around him, surprising him.

"I see…." Both Zabuza said as they watched the shuriken fly at the Zabuza keeping Kakashi prisoner. "You're aiming it at the real me….But…" He lashed out a hand and caught the shuriken right out of the air. "That's not enough!" But that was when he saw the other shuriken hiding in the shadow of the first. His eyes widened with shock. "Another one in the shuriken's shadow?!" He exclaimed before jumping clean over it. "Still not enough."

Sakura gasped as she watched with alarm and fear. Sasuke smirked to himself, rather smugly. The other Zabuza, the Water Clone charged at Naruto now, sword swinging. Naruto just gritted his teeth, while waiting. But then smirked when there was an explosion of smoke right behind the real Zabuza, making both Zabuza and Kakashi jerk around only to see the real Naruto, flinging his Kunai.

"NOW!" Naruto yelled as he flung his Kunai.

Zabuza just growled as he whirled around, to see that the Kunai was coming way too close but his head jerked back to see a wall of sand flying at him, engulfing his Water Clone and coming at the real him. He had a quick decision to make. He quickly threw himself to his left to avoid the kunai and the sand as it sped at him and covered the sphere of water entrapping Kakashi. But instead of looking at the watery-sand sphere, he shot Gaara a dirty look for throwing his wall of sand at him before spinning around with blood running down his cheek where Naruto's kunai had cut him. He spun the shuriken rapidly while facing Naruto. He'd kill that one first before going after the red head again.

THUNK!

Blood flew in the air as soon as the shuriken's blade hit Kakashi's hand, making it stop spinning. Zabuza's head jerked around with his eyes wide only to see how dangerous the silver-white haired ninja was looking right about now. His eyes were both very dark with warning as he glared at the stunned Mist Ninja. He was dripping wet with a little sand on him but he was freed.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura gasped with glee.

Behind Kakashi and Zabuza, Naruto came up from under the water, gasping for air while grinning smugly. Kakashi merely glanced at him before glaring back at the Mist Ninja. "Naruto, great plan." He told him. "You guys have grown up…"

Naruto laughed proudly as he bobbed up and down in the water. "The aim of the Shadow Clone wasn't to defeat Zabuza but to hide the fact that I had transformed into the Evil Wind shuriken! Of course I didn't think that could beat him, but I thought if only could break open that water prison!" He announced. "My shadow clones were only a distraction while I hid the real me! I threw it to Sasuke who combined me with his real shuriken and threw it at Zabuza! As for Gaara being apart of the plan, sand dries quickly while in the sun so he was able to control it again! My clone told him that his purpose was to throw his sand towards both Zabuza, destroying the Water Clone to make sure it didn't attack Tazuna while we were distracted and to cover the Water Prison just in case my plan didn't work!"

Zabuza just chuckled darkly, somewhat impressed. "Heh. I got distracted and released the Jutsu…."

"Wrong!" Kakashi snapped savagely as he glared at the Mist Ninja. "You didn't release it. You were "forced" to release it." He ignored the agitated growl from Zabuza. "Even if you hadn't released it, it wouldn't have mattered. Gaara's sand soaked into the Water Prison, soaking the water up like a sponge. That way, I could break out of it. I'll tell you that I don't fall for the same Jutsu twice. What will you do?"

Growling, Zabuza shook his head before leaping away from Kakashi, who leapt at the exact time. His Sharingan eye was now spinning rapidly before he and Zabuza began performing several hand signs at the same time now. And they were the exact same signs. "Water Dragon Blast Jutsu!" Both Shinobi, Leaf and Mist bellowed and two large dragons made completely out of water rose out of the river, sending a large tidal wave.

The large wave lashed out at the three Genin and the old man still ashore, soaking their clothes. Gaara, of course, panicked when the water slammed into him, sending him flying backwards. He choked on some water as he was being shoved backwards but then something quickly wrapped around his wrist, stopping him from being shoved against the trees. He opened his eyes to see Tazuna clutching onto his wrist, keeping him from moving. The old man just gritted his teeth as he held onto the Genin's arm before Sakura quickly reached out and grabbed Gaara's other hand. He was surprised that they were trying to help him but instead of questioning them, they looked forward to watch the fight.

With water raining down on them, both Kakashi and Zabuza was locked into a deadly battle. Zabuza was trying to slash at the silver-white haired Shinobi with his mighty sword but it was being blocked by a kunai. Something seemed to be happening between the two though. With every move Zabuza made, Kakashi did the exact same thing at the same time.

Growling, the Mist Ninja leapt away, only to have Kakashi do the very same thing. It was a strange sight to see. Kakashi was almost mirror moving everything that Zabuza was doing. When Zabuza moved, so did Kakashi. Frowning, the Mist Ninja ran along the river's surface only to be copied by Kakashi. Then they stopped at the same time. Bewildered, Zabuza threw one hand up into the air, and so did Kakashi. Then he threw his hand out to the side, which Kakashi did the same with the same hand. It was like Kakashi was…..

"….reading them." Kakashi suddenly said as if he had read Zabuza's mind. Zabuza looked even more bewildered as he just stared right into the Sharingan eye. He growled with anger as he quickly pressed his hands together, which Kakashi did. "….freaky eye is pissing me off! Right?" Kakashi asked, almost reading his mind.

"Heh…." Zabuza chuckled darkly but he sounded very nervous. "All you're doing is copying me. "You can't beat me you monkey bastard!" Both Zabuza and Kakashi exclaimed at the same time. Zabuza looked completely shocked. So obviously he had been thinking the same thing. Angrily, he began moving his hands very quickly, forming signs. "Damn you! I'll make it so….you can never open that mouth again!" But he looked alarmed again. For he could almost see himself right behind Kakashi. It was like….Kakashi was him.

Then Kakashi moved his hands rapidly. "Water Explosion Jutsu!" He bellowed, his Sharingan's swirling pupils swirling quickly in his eye now.

"What?! Impossible!" Zabuza exclaimed.

Suddenly there was an explosion of water as a massive tidal wave rose right up underneath them. The waves sent all of the Genin, the old man and the Mist Ninja backwards. The Genin had to brace their selves against trees, though Gaara was panicking again. He was thrashing in the water trying to keep above the surface but water washed right over his head, making him thrash even more. But he quickly surfaced as Tazuna kept a tight hold on his wrist, pulling him up above the water.

Once the waves subsided, they looked over to see Zabuza against a tree with kunai stuck into his arms and legs. Above him, Kakashi was standing in the tree, with his kunai out and ready to make the finishing blow. "It's over." Kakashi said dangerously.

"How….? Can you see the future?" Zabuza asked in alarm and fear.

Kakashi only bobbed his head as he got ready to fling his last kunai. "Yeah…You're going to die." He predicted.

Suddenly, there was a sharp whistling sound before two sharp senbon needles struck Zabuza right in the neck. Startled, everyone jerked around to see where they had come from, only to find someone standing on a branch. It was a boy, dressed in strange clothing that none of the Genin had ever seen. He had long black hair which was pulled up into a bun with two long strands on the sides of his face, which was covered with an unusual mask. So none of them could see who he was at all.

"He, he." The boy chuckled as he just stood there. "You're right. He's dead." He said as he watched Zabuza's body fall to the ground, motionless. He appeared to be dead.


	9. Chapter Nine

Everything went quiet as the Leaf Shinobi and the old man stared up at the boy still standing on the tree branch. He just stood there, not moving or saying anything. It was like he was being cautious around them. But after a long moment, Kakashi leaped down from his tree and bent down next to Zabuza, checking him for a pulse. But after a few mere seconds, he turned to look the boy again.

The boy then bowed his head to Kakashi, still not moving. "Thank you very much." He said in a very soft tone. "I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time."

There was a pause as Kakashi remained knelt beside Zabuza's body but he tilted his head as he examined the boy. He took in his appearance, much like his students were doing. "That mask….." He paused. "You're a Hidden Mist Hunter Ninja." He said, in more a question. That just made the Genin frown as they stared at the boy as he nodded. They weren't sure who this boy was or what he was. What was a Hunter Ninja? Gaara didn't think he had ever heard of them.

"Impressive. You are correct." The boy said quietly.

"Hunter ninja?" Naruto asked frowning.

The boy turned his head towards the Genin, seeming to be studying them but then he nodded again. "Yes. My duty is to hunt down Missing Ninja. I'm a member of the Hidden Mist's Hunter Ninja team." He explained. Gaara only frowned as he studied the boy with a frown. He couldn't be too sure but just by looking at this boy, he could tell that he was not much older than himself or Naruto.

Speaking of which, Naruto was glaring up at the boy before looking back and forth from Zabuza's body then back at the boy. "What the hell?!" He exclaimed. "Who are you?!"

Everyone looked at Naruto with alarm, while the Hunter Ninja just remained calm as ever. He just continued to stand there on the tree branch. Kakashi just hummed before he stood up and moved towards Naruto. "Don't worry, Naruto. He's not an enemy." He told the blonde. That didn't seem to help Naruto's mood. "I'm not asking that! That Zabuza….That Zabuza was killed! A guy that strong!" He yelled at Kakashi, looking angry. "A guy that strong was killed by a kid! But a kid not much different from me or Gaara! We look stupid! How can I understand that?!" He bellowed. "Well…" Kakashi paused as he stuffed his hand into his pocket looking softly down at Naruto. "I know how you feel. But….this is also the truth." He reached over and gently patted Naruto on the head. "In this world, there exists kids younger than you….yet stronger than me." He said and with that he glanced in Gaara's direction, then Sasuke's. The glance did not go un-noticed. Naruto and Sasuke both noticed, though the blonde thought Kakashi was talking about Sasuke. He just groaned while looking away.

A few seconds later, the Hunter ninja jumped down from the tree and bent down beside Zabuza's body. "Your battle is now over." He said as he picked up the body. "And now I must dispose of this body. Since it seems to be a body with many secrets. Farewell." He said softly before forming a hand sign and he vanished with mist swirling around him.

"He's gone!" Naruto yelped in surprise.

Kakashi only sighed as he reached up and pulled down his forehead protector over his Sharingan eye again. He shook his head as he looked at his young students. "Now, we have to get Tazuna back to his home. Let's go." He said turning away. Everyone nodded as they started to walk. Tazuna just chuckled as he fixed his rice hat. "Hahaha! Super thanks, guys! Come over to my house and relax for a while!" He said cheerfully. Everyone only nodded. But Gaara just stood right where he was, calling his sand back into his gourd and staring at the spot where the Hunter ninja had just been. He didn't understand it any more than Naruto had. How could a kid like that have killed Zabuza? Could he seriously be that good? And if he was, how was it that he didn't kill the Mist Rogue Ninja before?

And that's when it hit him.

Shukaku has seen too much blood and was becoming too wild. He was storming inside Gaara's head, making him wince before slapping a hand over his forehead and groaned.

Naruto heard him and turned to look at him before seeing the look on his friend's face. He blinked several times before rushing towards him. "Gaara! What's wrong?!" He gasped. Everyone also turned around sharply and looked at him. They could see he seemed to be struggling with himself now. "Gaara?!" Sakura gasped as she covered her hand.

Kakashi moved quickly forward, grabbing Naruto before he got too close and pulled him back. "Step back, Naruto. Let me handle this. I believe it might just be exhaustion from overuse of Chakra. It happens." He said, though he knew very well what was wrong. He made Naruto step back far enough so he wouldn't see what would happen if it did. Kakashi placed a hand onto Gaara's shoulder, making him turn away from the others. Then he looked into Gaara's eyes, seeing how they were glowing a little and he could almost see Shukaku trying to break through. "Hmm. I think this will do." He muttered before lifting his forehead protector again and looking Gaara right in the eye. The Sharingan spun a little as he pressed his hand against Gaara's head and pushed Chakra into him. A few seconds later, Gaara was bent over a little from being too tired but he had stopped shaking. And Shukaku was cursing in his head as he settled down immediately. But then he went completely quiet. "It's okay now, Gaara." Kakashi muttered for only him to hear. "I've put a seal on him. He's gone to sleep. Rest. I'll carry you the rest of the way." He told him. Gaara was panting a little as he looked right into Kakashi's Sharingan before his eyes drooped and he fell against the Jounin.

"Ah, poor kid." Tazuna said as he watched Kakashi catch Gaara and then lift him up. "He doesn't seem to be able to handle too much."

Kakashi just shook his head as he stood up straight, looking down at Gaara as slept. He had a soft look on his face as he slowly turned and looked at the concerned look on the other Genin's faces. "You're wrong, Mr. Tazuna. Gaara can handle a lot more than any of us can. And he tries. He's just got so much on his shoulders that none of us can ever hope to imagine." He told the Bridgemaster as he tried to take a step.

Only to fall flat on his back, with a loud crash.

"Huh?! What's wrong?!" Sakura gasped as she moved forward with Naruto and Sasuke, who also looked alarmed. Kakashi just groaned as he just laid completely motionless with a sleeping Gaara on his chest. "….my body…won't move….I used the Sharingan….too much…." He groaned pathetically. The three Genin only sighed with the old man and shook their heads.

Almost a day since they arrived at Tazuna's house, which was hidden with the rest of the village. It was a nice little house built on the water. There, Tazuna lived with his daughter, Tsunami and her son, whom they had yet to meet. He had not come down from his room just yet. Gaara was having a little difficult time in waking himself up from his sleep. He wasn't even aware of where he was or what was going on until he jerked awake from hearing Naruto and Sakura screaming in fear. His eyes snapped open and he threw himself into a sitting position. He looked frantically around before his head started to throb and he winced, falling back onto the sleeping mat while touching his forehead.

"Oh! Kakashi-sensei, you're awake!" came an unfamiliar voice.

"Idiot! What are you doing? We were so close to seeing under his mask." Sakura scolded Naruto.

Gaara groaned as he closed his eyes, trying to get rid of the dizziness he felt inside his head. He just laid there for a minute until he heard someone approaching him. "Oh. It looks like your student over here is awake too." Came that unfamiliar voice again.

"Gaara!" Naruto cheered before rushing over to his friend's side.

Gaara just winced as he opened one eye and looked up at his excited friend. His head was still hurting a little because of Shukaku's temper. The demon was definitely in a foul mood. He could feel it. 'What's your problem?' he groaned to the demon.

'It's that stupid sensei of yours! He's put a 72 hour seal on me so that I can't do anything but to just sit here in your stupid head!' The demon growled.

The red head smirked and shook his head before wincing again as Naruto tried shaking him a little to get his attention. "Hey, Gaara! Are you feeling any better since you passed out?!" The blonde exclaimed before getting smacked over the head by Sakura. "Hey! Leave him alone, Naruto! Can't you see he's not feeling well?!" She yelled at him. That didn't help Gaara any more. He just gave them both a dry look as he tried to sit up. It was then he noticed a woman standing in the corner. He stared at her for a minute before wincing.

"You shouldn't be moving right now, young man. You've been out for nearly a day now." The woman said in a soft tone.

Gaara just looked at her before forcing himself to sit up and look around. He noted the house that they were in now. It was pretty empty other than his fellow Genin, his sensei, Tazuna and the woman. "Wh-where are we?" He asked in low voice.

"We're in Tazuna's house, Gaara." Kakashi said as he looked thoughtful. "We were all in need of rest. Especially me. I couldn't even carry you as I told you I would. The Sharingan drained me of my Chakra. It tends to do that if I use it too long." He shook his head when Gaara started to look a little troubled. "I put you to sleep with my Sharingan. It would keep you from dreaming." He gave Gaara a look as if really trying to tell him something else. Gaara caught onto what he was trying to say and nodded as he lowered himself back to laying down. His head didn't spin as much as it did when he laid down.

"What's wrong, sensei?" Naruto asked when he noticed how troubled Kakashi looked.

Kakashi lift his head a little to look at him. "Huh?" He then shook his head as he rest his face into his palm. "Well….body erasing teams usually dispose of the body of the person they killed right there." He announced to everyone. They all frowned as they turned their eyes onto him. They weren't too sure where the Jounin was going with this. Sakura just tilted her head to the side. "So what?" She asked with confusion.

"Don't you see?" Kakashi asked calmly. "How did that masked boy dispose of Zabuza's body."

Frowning, Sakura shrugged a little agitated. "How could we know. That masked guy took the body with him." She said. Kakashi nodded as he cupped a hand over his masked mouth. "Yeah….If he needed proof of his work, he could have just taken the head. And the weapon that he used to kill Zabuza." He explained.

There was a pause as they let everything settle into their thoughts. They didn't understand it right away. But then Sasuke was the first to figure it out. He straightened up and looked highly alarmed. "….No way…" He muttered. Kakashi only nodded while the others looked confused. Even Gaara. But that was because he couldn't think. He was sure that if his head was spinning like a desert storm, he would have understood it. "Yeah. Exactly." Kakashi said while rubbing his head.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tazuna asked with a frown.

Kakashi looked around the room, rather grave. He didn't want to tell them this right away but he knew they needed to know. "Most likely…Zabuza is alive."

As expected, everyone was surprised. All three, Naruto, Sakura and Tazuna looked horrified, while Kakashi, Sasuke and Gaara frowned. Gaara slowly sat up again while looking seriously at him. He was surprised to hear that Zabuza was alive. After all that happened to that Mist ninja, by rights he should be dead.

"What the hell do you mean?!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura nodded, looking just alarmed. "Kakashi-sensei, you checked and you said he was dead!" She gasped.

Kakashi just nodded as he looked thoughtfully away. He appeared to be choosing his words carefully before he looked back at them. "Yeah, I did. But that was most likely just a momentary death. The needle weapon that Hunter ninja used…unless it hits a vital organ, has a low probability in killing your opponent. It's an item even used by doctors in acupunture therapy." He explained. "Hunter ninja know about the body's structure thoroughly. Putting a person in a momentary dead state is probably easy for them." He shook his head. "First, he carried away the body of the much heavier Zabuza. Second, he used a weapon that has a low probability of killing. These two points indicate that his motive was not to kill Zabuza, but to save him." He said. "We can't ignore that possibility."

Tazuna, somewhat irritated, shook his head as he looked around the room at them. "Aren't you thinking too much? Hunter ninja are suppose to kill Missing Ninja." He stated.

"Obviously," Gaara spoke up darkly as he ignored his soreness and stood up. "The Hunter ninja was not a Hunter ninja, but a fake. I'm actually glad that Zabuza's alive." He earned a surprised look from everyone but Kakashi. He ignored them as he went over to his gourd and picked it up. "Next time, I'll kill him."

"No." Kakashi said as he watched him. He ignored the look he got from Gaara for it but he just shook his head. "You are not ready to fight Zabuza, Gaara. None of you are. But either way, with all the suspicion… we will prepare before it's too late. That's a shinobi rule." He shrugged. "Plus, whether Zabuza is dead or alive, there's no assurances that Gatou hasn't hired an even stronger Shinobi." He told them all.

There was a pause but Gaara seemed to have accepted it because he turned back towards Kakashi, looking as if he was waiting. Sakura, however, just frowned and shook her head. "Sensei, what do you mean preparing before it's too late? You can barely move." She said doubtfully. Kakashi just chuckled, making her tilt her head. "You guys will receive training."

"Huh? Training?" Sakura asked in disbelief before she made a face. "Sensei! What's a little training going to do?! Our enemy is a ninja you struggled against even with the Sharingan!"

Kakashi just chuckled again and shook his head as he looked somewhat amused. "Sakura…who saved me while I was struggling? You guys are growing rapidly. Especially Naruto." That surprised all of them. "You've improved the most." Naruto just looked excited to hear that. He was grinning while Gaara and Sakura glanced over at him. It did seem that he was a little more serious than he used and he did seem better but there was still the fact that he goofed off a little. "But obviously…." Kakashi continued. "This is just training until I get better, you won't be able to defeat him without me."

Again, Sakura tilted her head as she looked worried. "But, Sensei, if Zabuza is alive he could attack at anytime, so should we be training?" She asked. Gaara turned his teal colored eyes onto her next. He was only a little annoyed with all the questions but in a way, she did have a point. Zabuza could attack them at any time. Kakashi, however, shook his head. "About that…a person put in a momentary death situation should take a while before their body returns to normal." He said, answering Sakura's question.

Grinning, Naruto bounced on his rear. "So we train until then! Sounds like a lot of fun!" He said excitedly. Gaara just snorted as he shook his head, his lips curved up a little. Trust Naruto to get so excited about one little thing. But then he blinked when he realized that someone just arrived into the room. He tilted his head to the side and saw a tiny boy about the age of nine. He was sure small for his age though. Though, that just reminded himself of his own self when he was young. He was wearing dark blue overalls over a white turtle shirt and a bucket hat on top of his head. His hair was black, from what Gaara could see. And his eyes were very dark. There was not a single shed of light in them. That was odd for a child his age, thought Gaara. It was like he was the most miserable kid. Other than himself.

"That's not fun…" The boy muttered.

The other three Genin was surprised though. They hadn't noticed him just yet. Naruto, of course, had to over react. He whirled around looking at him with wide eyes. "Who the hell are you?!" He exclaimed. The boy just ignored him as he walked towards a grinning Tazuna. The old man looked very happy to see him. "Ohh! Inari! Where were you?!" He asked happily. The boy just went over and hugged him. "Welcome back, Grandpa."

"Inari, say hello to these people. They are the ninjas who protected Granpa." Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami said as she placed her hands onto her waist. The boy just looked at the four Genin dryly, not looking happy to see them at all. He stared at them before facing his mother and pointing his finger at them. "Mom…they are going to die." He stated as if it was obvious.

"What did you say, you little brat?" Naruto exclaimed, angrily while Sakura looked just as surprised. Gaara and Sasuke just both stared dryly at the boy, Inari.

The boy turned his dark eyes back onto Naruto, narrowing his eyes at them. "There's no way you can win against Gatou." He grumbled bitterly.

And as always, Naruto got mad. He tried to charge at the boy with a fist raised. "You brat! I'll…!" He yelled but Sakura grabbed him, holding him back as she looked somewhat annoyed. She was annoyed by both Naruto and Inari but she was keeping her head a whole lot better. "Why are you getting pissed at a child? Idiot!" She yelled at him. Naruto just shook his head as she thrust a finger towards the boy. "Hey, Inari! Listen! I am a super hero who will one day become an incredible ninja called Hokage! I don't know this Gatou guy, but he's nothing against me!" He said grinning.

Inari just snorted without being impressed at all. He gave Naruto a look of disgust as he turned slightly away. "What are you, stupid? There's no such thing as a hero!" He snapped.

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, angry again. And again, Sakura grabbed the blonde to keep him from charging the boy. "Stop it!"

Inari just turned and walked towards a sliding door. He just looked over his shoulder at the Shinobi. "If you don't want to die, you should leave…." He said dryly as he approached the door. Gaara frowned as he noticed a look on the boy's face. There was a look in his eyes that bothered him. Too much sorrow.

"Where are you going, Inari?" Tazuna asked as the boy went to the door and slid it open. Inari just looked over his shoulder at the old man, looking forlorn. "To look at the ocean from my room." He said rather dryly before slamming the door behind him as he left. Gaara just watched the closed the door with frown. He could see Naruto was shaking with rage and he knew that his best friend might try to go hunt down that boy to smack him or something. He didn't think that would be smart but what did it matter to him? He just wanted to know what had that kid so riled up.

Later Gaara was standing out on the docks, looking at the water surrounding the house with distaste. It had been the first time since he been outside since they came to Tazuna's home. He really had not been satisfied to find out that the house was right above the water. He really did not want to be here right now. He couldn't wait till he and the others returned home to Konoha. But for now…

'Huh?' He thought when he heard the tiniest sound.

Gaara frowned as he blinked out of his thoughts and he looked around. He could hear sobs close by. Someone was crying. But where? The red head turned a little and looked up at the second floor window and that's where he saw the bucket hat that he remembered Inari was wearing. Gaara couldn't see his face but he didn't need to see it to know that the boy was crying. It made the red head wonder why he was crying. But then one word broke out through Inari's sobs that told him exactly what he needed to know. "Daddy." That made Gaara's eyes soften a little and he looked away again, no longer bothered by the waves.

The next day, the training began. Gaara was standing against a tree with his arms folded across his chest. He had his eyes closed while he was listening to Kakashi starting to explain on what they were doing. He was explaining to them about Chakra, which was something that Gaara knew all about.

But Naruto, on the other hand, had to ask the dumb question that he should have known about all along. "What's Chakra?"

That made Gaara's eyes open and he gave his friend a raised eyebrow look, a big sweat drop forming on the side of his head. Sakura was already yelling at him for that. This just made the red head sigh as he closed his eyes and tried to think to himself again while Sakura began an explanation on Chakra. He didn't really listen. He already knew what it was. He used it all the time when he used his sand.

But once she was done, Kakashi nodded. "Exactly. Iruka had some good students." He said, while Sakura beamed with pride. Naruto just nodded with a confused look. "Hey! I didn't understand that complicated explanation but isn't that something you learn with your body?" He asked, making Sakura glare at him.

"Naruto is right." Sasuke said impatiently. "We can already use jutsu."

Kakashi just shook his head as he looked dryly at them. "Nope. You guys are not using Chakra properly." He stated earning alarmed looks from Naruto and Sakura while Sasuke and Gaara eyed their sensei darkly. They really didn't like to hear that. "Well, listen…as Sakura said earlier, to release Chakra means to bring out physical and spiritual energy and mxi them together within your body. And based on what Jutsu you use, the type and amount of Chakra that is released will be different. You guys are not using Chakra effectively yet. Even if you are able to release a high amount of chakra…unless you control it properly…..the jutsu will be weakened or not work at all." He explained. "And by wasting energy, you won't be able to fight as long. These kinds of weaknesses will appear."

"So….what should we do?" Naruto asked rubbing the back of his neck.

Kakashi just dipped his head lower. "Learn how to control it. Through very tough training." He paused to look over at Gaara. "Unfortunately for you guys, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, Gaara's the only one who can control his Chakra effectively. With his sand manipulation skills, that's how he can do it. So he won't be doing what you will be doing."

Both Naruto and Sakura looked worried while Sasuke looked annoyed. He hadn't liked to hear that Gaara, the youngest of the team had more control over his Chakra than he did. "What are we going to do?" Sakura asked, worriedly.

"Hmm..?" Kakashi asked before sounding amused. "Tree climbing."

The Genin, even Gaara frowned in surprise when they heard that bit. They hadn't been expecting tree climbing as a training technique. "Tree climbing?!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi just nodded. "Yeah."

"What kind of training is that?" Sakura asked skeptically.

Kakashi sighed but shook his head as he leaned against the crutches he was using to keep himself standing straight. "Well, listen until the end. This isn't normal tree climbing. You'll climb without using your hands." He told them. Before Naruto, had looked bored. But now, he was grinning while both Sasuke and Sakura looked skeptical. Gaara just frowned as he took in the information. "How?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Well…." Kakashi paused before forming a hand sign to concentrate on his Chakra. "Watch." He went quiet for a minute before he turned and walked towards a tree. Once he approached a tree, he just placed one foot against the tree and to everyone's surprise, he started walking up the trunk of the tree. Even Gaara was a little fascinated by this. He went over to stand with the other three, who were all looking up with surprise. "You understand now?" Kakashi asked as he stood upside down on a branch. "Gather your Chakra in the bottom of your feet and climb a tree. This is something you can do once you can use Chakra well."

Again, Sakura was skeptical. "Wait a minute! How is learning how to climb a tree going to make us stronger?!" She called up to Kakashi.

Kakashi just shrugged as he looked directly down at them. "Here's the main part. Listen closely. The purpose of this training is….first to teach you how to control Chakra. To bring out the proper amount of to the proper area. As I said earlier, this is the most important aspect when using jutsu. This can be difficult for even a skilled ninja. The amount of Chakra needed to climb a tree is small, but it must be exact. And it is said that the bottom of the foot is the most difficult area to gather Chakra. So basically…if you can learn this control, you should be able to master any Jutsu." He told them. "Theoretically." He added.

Naruto was grinning to himself while the others just took it into thought.

"The second thing is for you to develop the stamina needed to control Chakra properly. Depending on the Jutsu, controlling your Chakra properly cane be difficult. And a ninja will usually be gather his Chakra during battle while constantly moving. Those types of situations make controlling Chakra even more difficult." Kakashi explained. "That's why, from this tree climbing, you must gain the stamina needed for this proper control." He then shook his head as he pulled out three Kunai and held them down. "Well, me talking all day isn't going to accomplish anything…." He said as he rose the kunai. "This is something you'll have to learn with your bodies."

And he flung the kunai.

The three kunai flew towards Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, landing blade first into the ground right before them. Gaara just frowned as he saw only three of them. So obviously, he was not doing this exercise with them.

"Use those Kunais to mark how high you make it up the tree." Kakashi told the other three Genin. "Then use that mark as your goal and try to surpass it. You guys won't be good enough to just walk up the tree at first. So get some momentum and try running up the tree. Got it?"

Naruto just snorted as he grabbed the kunai and readied himself. He was laughing to himself as if this was the easiest thing. "This training is nothing to me! I could do it before breakfast!" He said cheerfully. "Cause I'm the most improved!"

Kakashi rolled his one eye as he shook his head. "Why don't you stop the bragging…Pick a tree and hurry up and try to climb it." He told them.

Naruto nodded as he immediately started to concentrate, but then he stopped with a frown as he glanced over at Gaara. "Huh? Wait a second! What about Gaara?! Isn't he going to do this too?!" He asked with a frown.

"Nope. I'm pretty sure he can already climb the tree by using his Chakra." Kakashi said simply. "I've got something else in mind for him."

Gaara just frowned as he looked at the others who were looking like they didn't believe it. But in a way, he had already done this sort of thing now that he thought about it. He remembered a long time ago how Jiraiya had taught him to stand on slippery wet rocks before he tried to teach him how to swim. But still, these were trees. "But….if he can walk up trees, shouldn't he try it?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmm. All right, all right. Gaara, why don't you give it a try before they do. Use what you already know." Kakashi said as he looked simply at the red head.

Gaara only frowned before rolling his eyes and walking towards a tree. He stood in front of the tree, looking up at it. With a shrug, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his Chakra inside him, just like Jiraiya had taught him a long time ago before he nodded and placed his foot onto the trunk. He made sure his Chakra was clutching at the tree trunk before he stepped forward onto the trunk, standing vertically with the tree.

"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed amazed as he grinned. "Gaara! You never told me that you could do that too!"

Gaara turned around and looked straight up and over to his blonde friend while folding his arms across his chest. He just gave his head a litte wobble as if trying to shake it. "You didn't ask." He said dryly. "Besides, I didn't learn this with trees. I learned this on wet rocks by the river. When I was only a kid. But even so, trees a harder to do it because you're up in the air. I only had to learn to how balance myself on slippery rocks."

Still, Naruto looked impressed. He grinned before looking excited and trying to concentrate on his Chakra. He wanted to do it too. After a minute of concentrating with Sakura and Sasuke, the blonde charged at a tree. "Here I go!" He bellowed excitedly. He rushed to a tree and stepped up onto the trunk…..only to come crashing down on his head. Sasuke, however, ran straight up the trunk, gaining almost ten feet before he lost control and started to fall back down. He growled before slashing out with his kunai, slashing the trunk before flipping twice in the air and landing on his feet. Gaara just watched as Naruto laid on the ground, rolling around in pain. He seriously wanted to laugh at him but he chose not to, knowing that it would probably agitate the blonde. So he just turned and tried walking up the trunk, going a little ways before making a face. He was already starting to slip. It wasn't easy because gravity was against him. So he turned back and went down, dropping down the rest of the way.

"This is pretty easy!" came Sakura's voice.

All three, Naruto, Sasuke and Gaara turned their eyes upward to see where Sakura was and she was nearly at the top of the tree, sitting on the branch. This did bring a smirk to Gaara's face as she stuck her tongue out at them and giggled.

"Oh. It looks like the best at controlling Chakra right now, other than Gaara, is Sakura." Kakashi said sounding amused.

"Sakura! Wow! You're great, Sakura! That's the girl I put my confidence in!" Naruto cheered as he looked up at him. Sasuke only the other hand just shook his head and looked back at the tree. Far above them, Sakura sighed and slouched, a little disappointed that Sasuke didn't react to her. Kakashi just nodded with amusement. "Wow. Not only does she know a lot about Chakra, but her control and stamina are quite good. As of now, Sakura is the closest to Hokage." He remarked chuckling. "Unlike a certain someone. I guess the Uchiha clan is worth much either."

"Shut up, Sensei!" Sakura barked pointing at him, even though he was only trying to taunt Naruto and Sasuke into doing better. It was working though as because both of the boys looked at one another and smirked.

Gaara just shook his head and folded his arms. But he paused when a certain movement caught his attention. He tilted his head off to the side only to see Inari hiding behind a tree and watching them. That just made Gaara frown as he watched him. The boy watched bitterly before he noticed the red head looking at him. He gave him a dark look before turning away and walking away. Gaara was very tempted of walking after him but before he could, Kakashi appeared right beside him, with smoke and leaves swirling around him. He looked up at him before looking back to see Naruto and Sasuke trying it again.

"Gaara, are you ready for your instructions?" Kakashi sounding amused.

The young red head just glanced at him before nodding once as he dropped his arms. He turned towards the Jounin who motioned him to follow him. He followed Kakashi a little ways from the clearing where Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were climbing up the trees. They didn't say anything for a while until they came to a small spring that was connected to the bay where Tazuna lived. Gaara only frowned as he looked at the spring before looking interested up at Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't say anything for a while before he stopped next to the spring then turned to Gaara. "Okay, Gaara. As you already had been taught by Jiraiya abut balancing yourself on wet rocks, you do know a little about controlling your Chakra to your feet. I'll probably try having you do the trees too but this will be your main priority." He stated.

"…" Gaara hummed as he just stared up Kakashi. "…what is it?"

Kakashi motioned to the spring. "You're to stand above the water. Seeing that you don't like water too much, I found the shallowest bit of water that might not freak you out. This is only a foot deep and will only reach to your knees if you fall in. But don't be afraid of it." He told him.

"?!" Gaara was too surprised to pay attention to the depth of the water. His attention was on what Kakashi first said. He was to stand above the water?! How in the world did he expect him to do that?! "What? Stand above the water?"

Kakashi just nodded as he dropped his hand back down to the crutch handle. He had been expecting the skeptical look on Gaara's face but he smiled under his mask. "In your case, it can be done. It's just as hard as climbing the trees but it's necessary. And if you can manage it, you won't only be able to walk the tree trunk all the way up but you can overcome your fear of water." He told him. "It's like….teaching your sand how to catch you in the air when you're about to fall into the water or such."

Slowly Gaara nodded as he looked thoughtful but then folded his arms. "How can it be done?" He asked, quietly.

Kakashi motioned to Gaara's gourd with his hand. "Just summon your sand out of your gourd and have it hover above the spring. But just a large patch." He told him. Gaara just frowned but glanced over his shoulder at his gourd, calling out a fistful of sand and having it over the spring. Then he looked back at Kakashi, now nodded. "All right. Now step onto the sand and try to hold yourself up in the air. But concentrate on your Chakra within the sand." He told him.

That surprised Gaara but he nodded and tried it. He put his foot onto the sand patch before trying to lift himself up into the air. However, the sand gave out quickly making his foot fall right into the water and he lost the patch of sand. Alarmed, Gaara scampered out of the spring, tripping a little. Kakashi just chuckled but shook his head. "I didn't think you'd get the first time anyway. But I want you to try it again. Get the same amount of sand and try it again." He told him. Gaara just gave him a cool look but Kakashi challenged him anyway. "Just do it, Gaara, unless you're afraid. I would think that you have more guts to do it or are you going to let Shukaku walk all over you?"

"?" Gaara wondered out loud as he stood up.

Kakashi only shook his head as he tilted his head. "Gaara, doing this might just help you control the sand demon inside you a little better. It should help you keep his temper at bay by using your own Chakra, not his." He told him. "Just trust me. This will help you a lot. And it'll give you something to do."

Blowing out a frustrated sigh, Gaara nodded and summoned more sand from his gourd and tried it again. He concentrated hard on his Chakra before trying to step up on the sand patch. This time it held….for about five seconds before he fell again. He landed right in the water, making him yelp and scamper out. Kakashi just shook his head as he turned to leave. "Just keep trying, Gaara. In the end, you'll be able to stand on your sand and conquer your fear of water. Now, I better go check on the others. I'll be back in ten minutes to check on you." He told him before leaving Gaara.

Growling a little, Gaara stood there watching him as he left before looking at the spring again. He stared at it before shaking his head and trying it again. If Kakashi was trying to make him do this, then it must have been possible for him to do it. So he would keep trying until he got it.


	10. Chapter Ten

For nearly three days now, the Genin trained hard trying to accomplish what Kakashi told them to do. Now and then, Gaara would join the other three to climbing trees but most of the time he tried to stand on his sand, above water. It wasn't easy at all. Every single time, he fell into the spring. Frustrated, he would get out of the water and try it again. He barely even noticed that he was afraid of water now. He was just getting very frustrated that it was too difficult in trying to control his own sand and letting himself stand on it.

However, as the training went with the other three, Gaara was soon able to walk up the tree and then back down without slipping. It was the same for Sakura too. She was able to reach the top of the tree now and stand on the branch at an angle without falling.

And if she ever did slip, Gaara was there to catch her. He climbed the same tree as she did, not that she cared and they would walk right up the trunk. There was only a few times she slipped and Gaara had to use his sand to catch her right out of the air before bringing her back up. But then he noticed something as he kept catching Sakura. He was catching her with his sand and holding her up. He wondered why he could hold someone else up but not himself. This only urged him to keep trying harder. He worked for nearly the entire day trying to stand on his sand. He also did it at night while everyone was sleeping. It took a lot of his energy out of him by working day and night but Gaara refused to give up until he figured out why he couldn't hold himself up on his own sand.

One night things kind of got a little hard for everyone. Especially while Naruto and Sasuke was having their little rivalry dispute, trying to see who could eat the most before they ended up barfing it back up. This made Gaara just eye them with disgust while trying to eat his own food. But he soon lost his own appetite while Sakura was yelling at them both to stop eating if they were going to barf it back up.

"No. I need to eat." Sasuke remarked dryly.

"Yeah! We have to no matter what. Because we have to become stronger!" Naruto said grinning while shaking a little.

Gaara rolled his eyes while looking away to try and find something a little more distracting other than watching them eat and then barf it back up. His eyes fell onto a portrait hanging up on the wall. It was a picture of Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari, who was actually smiling. But in the upper left hand corner, there was a large portion missing. That just made Gaara frown as he studied it. There appeared to be someone standing behind Inari and Tsunami but only two pairs of hands were shown.

Sakura was also looking at this picture. "Hey, why do you have a torn picture on the wall?" She asked before turning around. "Inari was staring at this during dinner. It seems like someone purposely removed the person that was in the picture."

All three Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari looked away with pained looks on their faces. There was a long silence before Tsunami turned away with a sigh. "It's my husband." She whispered as she went into the kitchen to wash dishes. Tazuna nodded solemnly as he looked down at his plate. "And…the man called the hero of the city…" He added.

That was when Inari shoving himself away from the table and walked towards the door. He obviously didn't want to be there to hear this story. Tsunami looked surprised as they all watched him go right out the front door. "Inari, where are you going?" She asked, but was ignored. The door was slammed behind him rather loudly. "Inari!" Then she whirled around and glared at her father. "Father! I have told you not to talk about that man in front of Inari!" She yelled at him before she hurried to the door to follow after Inari.

There was a long silence in the room as they listened to nothing. Gaara was frowning as he watched the slammed door before looking at Tazuna, questionably. Sakura also looked around at everyone. "What's wrong with Inari?"

"There seems to be some kind of explanation." Kakashi said quietly.

Tazuna just sighed and shook his head as he looked towards the picture. He was quiet for a short time before shaking his head again. "Inari had a father not related by blood." He began. "They were very close, like a real father and son….Inari would laugh a lot back then…" He stopped for a long moment and started shaking. It caught everyone's attention making them all look at him. And then they saw the tears in the old man's eyes. "But….but Inari changed….since the incident with his father…" Tazuna said shaking his head. "The word "courage" has been stolen from the people of this island…and from Inari. Even since that day…because of that incident…"

Everyone stared at him with confusion. They didn't understand but they all knew that it must have been very bad. Kakashi tilted his head towards the old man, frowning. "That incident? What happened to Inari?" He asked the question everyone was wondering.

Tazuna just sighed again before taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes, trying to clear them from tears. He also looked very tired as he thought about it but with another sigh he shook his head. "Before I get to that, I first…have to tell you about the man who was called the hero of this city." He told them.

"Hero?" Naruto asked as he folded his arms against the table and leaned across them.

Tazuna just kept his eyes looking down at the table with a very sad look on his face. "It was about three years ago, Inari met that man." He explained. "A couple of boys were picking on Inari. They stole his puppy, Pochi from him and tried to keep him for their selves. Inari begged them to give him back but the kids wouldn't. Then the brat who stole Inari's puppy threw the dog into the bay so it would drown and hurt Inari. They teased Inari, saying that he should jump in and save Pochi but unfortunately, Inari didn't know how to swim." The old man paused to glance at Gaara, who met his eyes before looking away. "Inari wanted to desperately save his dog but he couldn't. He was so afraid and he couldn't swim. He knew he would drown if he went into the water. But the bully, the little brat who always picked on him, he came up right behind Inari and kicked him into the water. Inari kept on splashing in the deep water, begging for help. That dog of his suddenly remembered he could dog paddle and went to the shore, leaving Inari to drown. And those kids went after it. Inari….he nearly drowned. He went under the water and lost consciousness."

At this point, everyone was looking alarmed while listening to Tazuna's story about Inari. Naruto was staring at the table with hard eyes, his face nearly buried into the crook of his arm. Sasuke and Gaara almost shared the same hard look as they stared off to the ground.

"However, something miraculous happened." Tazuna continued. "When Inari woke up again, he was out of the water. Someone had saved him from drowning. It was the man who would be called hero here. He saved Inari and was very kind to him. He told Inari something very important that day too. He said, 'If you're a man, choose a life of no regrets. For something that is precious to you, not matter how tough, no matter how sad, you must try and try and even if you lose your life, protect with your two strong arms.'" Tazuna chuckled. "He also said, 'If you do that, even if you die, the proof of a man's life will remain forever.' But it still helped Inari discover his courage. His name was Kaiza, a fisherman who came here to follow his dreams. After that, Kaiza and Inari became very close. It may have been because Inari's real father died before he got to know him, but he and Kaiza were inseparable, like a real father and son. It was only a matter of time before Kaiza became a part of the family."

This brought a smile to Naruto's face as he looked at Tazuna. Even Gaara felt a hint of a smile on his face, though there was also a hint of sadness. He had never known his father either. He wondered if his father was anything like this Kaiza. He really hoped so. He also wondered if his father had been happy to be a father to him. But alas, he would never know.

Tazuna continued with his story, though. "And Kaiza was also a man the city needed. One night, there was a terrible storm. It had been raining for nearly a week now and the rivers rose so high that we need dams to keep the rivers from flooding the city and destroying it. But the storm got so bad that one of the dams' door was down. Kaiza and many of the men tried their hardest to close the doors but the water pressure was too much. It nearly destroyed a part of the city. Then Kaiza decided that he could close the door, himself." The old man told the Shinobi. "Inari didn't want him to do it. It was too dangerous. Kaiza could have been killed doing it. Inari begged him not to do it because he didn't want his father to die. But Kaiza told him that he had to. He said he was invincible because he loved the city where Inari was born. He was doing it to protect Inari from the floods. So Kaiza jumped into the flash flood and swam all the way towards the door. He worked so hard in that water to pull the door closed. Inari watched him bravely fight to save the city. He did it. He pulled the doors closed. And then…Kaiza was called a hero by the people of this city. And Inari could not be prouder of his father."

Everyone was smiling as they listened to the great story that Tazuna was telling them. It didn't sound horrible. It was a great story about a true hero. This was something that each of the Genin wanted to live like. So how could it be terrible enough to hurt Inari? They were about to find out.

The smile on Tazuna's face faded as he looked down at the table before him. He looked pained as he recalled the memories. "But Gatou came to this city." He announced.

There was a pause as everyone looked at the old man. He couldn't say it. He looked so hurt as he remembered THE incident. Kakashi frowned as he tilted his head towards Tazuna. "And then this incident happened?" He asked. There was a pause, for the old man could not say. "What exactly happened?" Kakashi asked again.

Shaking, Tazuna looked up at the Shinobi, sorrow and pain in his eyes. "In front of everyone, Kaiza was…..put to death by Gatou." He said seriously.

All five of the Shinobi looked at him with alarm or pain. Even Gaara's calm exterior vanished. He looked at the old man with surprise. They stared at the old man with shock of what he was trying to tell them. "What?" Sakura gasped softly.

Tazuna nodded with tears in his eyes as he turned his head away. He closed his eyes, looking very sad. "Gatou said that Kaiza had been causing trouble for Gatou Corporation. They said he had been conducting terrorist attacks against the company when all he ever did was tell Gatou that the city wasn't interested in the things that he was bringing there. All the terrible products and raunchy people, we didn't want it." The old man said painfully. "Gatou had his Samurai bodyguards cut off Kaiza's arms before us because he always used his arms to protect the city. And then, he told his bodyguard to kill him. From that day, Inari changed….as did Tsunami and the whole city." He finished the story.

There was a long silence as Tazuna's words echoed in the air. Sakura was crying softly as she covered her mouth with a hand. She tried to turn her head away to keep the others from seeing her tears. Naruto, however, just glared across the room. He had such anger in his eyes as he stared at the wall. Gaara glanced at him before looking at the ground. He knew how his blonde friend was feeling. There was such anger and pain in his heart after hearing what Inari had gone through in his such young childhood. After hearing that, he pitied the boy. He had also had lost his father but at least he hadn't had to watch him be murdered for standing up for what was right.

Suddenly, Naruto shoved himself away from the table and tried to bolt away, only to trip on the chair's legs and fell flat on his face. "Ow." He groaned.

Kakashi sat up straighter. He knew what Naruto was trying to do. It was obvious of what he was thinking. Even Gaara knew what it was. "If you're thinking of training, take the day off. You've released too much Chakra. Anymore and you could die." He warned Naruto.

Naruto just pushed himself to his feet with his face set with determination. "I'm going to prove it…" He muttered as he stood up straight, getting surprised looks from the others. "I'm going to prove that in this world….heroes do exist." And he left the house.

After a long moment of silence while Sakura and Sasuke looked at one another then looked at Kakashi who sighed, their eyes immediately adverted to Gaara as he pushed himself off the wall and walked towards the door. His gourd followed him, being held up with a trail of sand. He was going to help Naruto prove to Inari. The story about Inari's father was definitely an inspiration.

"Gaara, you need rest too. It's the full moon." Kakashi stated as he put his hand down on the table. He earned a few questionable looks from the other three but he didn't explain to them of what he meant.

Gaara just shook his head as he looked directly towards the door. He paused in the doorway as he strapped his gourd onto his back. "I'm not tired. And I don't need sleep. Not right now." He said darkly before leaving after Naruto.

Throughout the entire night of training with his sand, Gaara kept trying and trying to stand on his sand above the spring. But it didn't work. He was getting more and more frustrated as he kept trying but he refused to give up. He barely even noticed as the night grew into dawn. He just kept working harder. No matter how hard it seemed, he was going to do it.

As the sun rose higher into the sky and Gaara found himself panting hard from exhaustion but there was a hint of a determined smile on his face. He had at least gotten himself to stand on the sand for nearly twenty seconds this time. But still, he knew it wasn't enough. He would have to keep working.

But for now, he needed to go find Naruto and see if he was okay.

So, gathering up his gourd, Gaara left the spring and headed towards the clearing where he knew that Naruto would be. He was very exhausted from missing out on sleep but he had wanted to be able to accomplish his deeds before the next fight with Zabuza.

As he approached the clearing, he heard voices. But the sounds of it, it was Naruto. But who was the other voice? He didn't recognize it. Gaara frowned as he looked around before his eyes fell onto Naruto and someone else that he didn't know. It looked like a girl to Gaara. But he couldn't be too sure. She or he was a very pretty person with gorgeous long black hair and dark eyes with big eyelashes. She/he was wearing a light blue robe with a black draw string tied around their waist.

"Is that for someone else? Or yourself?" The pretty person asked looking right at Naruto, who just look confused. When the blonde Shinobi looked even dumber, the pretty person laughed into their hand and looked softly at Naruto. "Do you…have someone who is important to you?" they asked softly before getting a very thoughtful look on their face, as if they were remembering something.

"What?" Naruto asked.

The pretty person slowly nodded as they tilted their head to the side. "When a person has something important to protect, that's when they can truly become strong." She/he said softly.

There was a pause before Naruto smiled brightly and nodded. "Yeah! I understand that very well!" He said brightly. "Actually I do have someone that is really important to me. We've been friends for a long time! He's been my only friend and I was his. I want to be strong to stand by his side when he needs my help!" The pretty person just smiled softly before those pretty dark eyes flashed with alert and they turned sharply to look at Gaara as he stood near the tree. They frowned for a second until Naruto grinned when he saw his friend. "Gaara! See! That's who I meant! He's my bestest friend!" He said cheerfully.

However, Gaara did not return the smile but looked at the pretty person with a little suspicion. He didn't know what it was but this person seemed very familiar. Who was this? The pretty person stared Gaara right in the eye, looking a little un-nerved. That was a look that Gaara knew that look too well. It was a look that he used to get from the other kids in Konoha. But after a minute, the pretty person's face softened as they reached over and picked up their basket full of herbs. The look in their dark eyes had changed. It was almost knowing, almost like this person knew about Gaara. They offered him a gentle smile before standing up.

"You will become strong." The pretty person stated to Naruto as they started walking away. "Let's meet again somewhere."

"Sure!" Naruto said grinning.

The pretty person nodded as they walked away but paused without turning around. It was like they had something else to say and was trying to decide if they should say it. But then nodded. "Oh….and….I'm a boy." Then he walked away.

The look on Naruto's face was priceless. He looked so horrified as if that was the most terrible thing he had ever heard. Gaara didn't pay attention though. He just turned and watched as the boy walked away, passing by Sasuke, who also looked rather suspicious. But then he turned and looked right at Naruto and then at Gaara, who looked back.

The next day, while at the clearing, both Kakashi and Sakura came to the clearing, looking around. They found the clearing but there was no one there. Or at least so it seemed.

"Where is Naruto?" Kakashi asked out loud. "He left again by himself last night."

Sakura sighed beside him as she looked around, trying to see if Naruto was lying dead on the ground somewhere. But she didn't see anyone. "He's missing breakfast. Plus Sasuke and Gaara goes off on walks and doesn't even come back. I'm kind of worried about them. Especially Gaara. He hasn't even slept since we've been here." She said with a sigh.

Thunk!

Both blinked and looked down to see a Kunai sitting in the ground between them. Frowning, they both look up to see Naruto laughing wearily on a very high branch. He was lying on it while looking down at them. And he was nearly sixty feet up.

"He can already climb that high?" Sakura asked with awe. Kakashi just smirked under his mask while looked up at his blonde haired and loud mouthed student.

"What do you think?! Look how high I can climb now!" Naruto bellowed down at them. Then he attempted to stand up on the branch before wobbling on the branch as if he was about to fall over. "Whoa!" He gasped.

"Ahh! Idiot!" Sakura screamed up at him. Kakashi just looked as worried as he froze beside Sakura. "Oh no! If you fall from that height…!"

And then Naruto fell.

Sakura started screaming as she closed her eyes and covered her eyes. She could watch this. She was so sure that Naruto was going to die from the fall. Kakashi was sure of it too. He stared wide eyed with alarm as he watched Naruto fall right off the branch…..and then he sweat dropped dryly. For Naruto was now standing upside down on the branch, grinning down at them. "Heheh. Just kidding!" He said before bursting with laughter. Both Kakashi and Sakura stared dryly up at him. "Hahahaha! You fell for it!" He laughed.

"YOU SCARED ME, IDIOT!" Sakura screamed with rage at him. Kakashi just sighed and shook his head. However, the worst was about to happen. Naruto finally did fall. His feet came off the branch with a loud pop like suction cups. Again both Kakashi and Sakura froze. "Aww! Stupid Naruto! Stop showing off!" She screamed.

Only this time, Naruto was serious. He was actually falling. His face was twisted in horror and alarm as he fell head first off the tree. "Ahhh! GYAAAHHH!" He yelled out in fear.

Suddenly there was a loud thud as Sasuke came out of nowhere and caught Naruto by the ankle, also hanging upside down. So he had manage to do it too. "You moron." He remarked as he looked down at Naruto. Far below, Sakura looked happy to see him. "Sasuke!" She cheered. "Yay! Sasuke! You're the best!"

"Stop fooling around, Naruto. You could have gotten killed with that prank." Came Gaara's voice as he slowly came out from behind the tree, walking on his sand in mid air. He ducked under the tree branch as he walked on his sand, which was moving as he did. But he had finally did it. He was walking on his sand.

Below, Kakashi looked up with surprise before he smiled under his mask. Just by the look on his face, they knew he was smiling. "You guys are growing very well."

Things were definitely looking up for all of them. Especially for the boys. Both Sasuke and Naruto were still climbing the trees late in the evening while Gaara was walking on sand. They were training rather hard until near exhaustion. But they were definitely getting better.

The only thing that hadn't changed for Gaara was he still could not walk on his sand above water. He didn't understand it. He didn't understand why he could walk on his sand while above the ground but why not water? It was just too confusing. He even tried asking Shukaku if he knew but the demon completely ignored him. He was still in a foul mood with him and Kakashi for what happened after the fight with Zabuza. He snarled at Gaara every time the boy tried to ask him for something before kicking up a storm in his head, making him wince. So Gaara chose to ignore him back.

On the night when Sasuke and Naruto finally made it to the top of the tree, all three boys went back to Tazuna's in pure exhaustion. Gaara was more frustrated than exhausted. He was also soaking wet, which came as a surprise to everyone but Kakashi. But instead of saying anything to them, Gaara stormed over to lean his gourd against the wall before going to sit down with a moody face. Neither Tazuna or Sakura decided to ask.

"Oh, you guys are finally back. What's this? You guys look super dirty and worn out." Tazuna said.

Naruto just laughed weakly as he leaned against Sasuke. But he looked very proud of himself as they staggered over to sit down. "Heheh, both of us….made it to the top." He said wearily. Kakashi nodded looking satisfied. "All right. Naruto, Sasuke, starting tomorrow, you two will also help protect Tazuna." He said. Naruto grinned and threw up a fist into the air. "Okay!" He exclaimed. Sasuke only nodded as he helped Naruto into a chair. He was glancing over to Gaara though. Sakura also looked over. "Gaara, why are you wet?" She asked, then cringed when she got an icy stare.

Kakashi just sighed as he looked at him. "Let me guess. You still can't walk above the water." He said as he folded his hands together.

Gaara looked away, rather in a foul mood. He didn't say anything for a minute before shaking his head. "I don't understand it. I can walk on my sand but I can't walk above the water." He muttered. Kakashi chuckled softly before he reached over and patted the Genin on the head before shaking his head. "Ah, don't worry about it anymore, Gaara. You've already accomplished what I was trying to make you get. I just wanted you to walk on sand. That's all." He told him. "Don't wear yourself out."

"He, he. I'm also worn out from today's bridge work." Tazuna said chuckling. "At any rate, the bridge is almost complete."

The others just smiled as they looked at the old man. Gaara was still not smiling but he did somewhat feel better than before. Tsunami just shook her head as she looked the young blonde and the old man over. "Naruto, Father, don't overdo it, okay?" She told them getting nods. Naruto just slumped over the table, almost falling asleep.

However, Gaara was now looking Inari, who was watching Naruto as he fell asleep on the table. He saw the boy's dark eyes starting to fill with tears before he dipped his head lower. That also got Naruto's attention because he was suddenly awake again. "Whut?" He muttered tiredly.

And Inari just burst from his emotions. "Why do you guys bother to try so hard?! No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gatou's men! No matter what glorious claims you make or how hard you work! When facing the strong, the weak will only end up getting killed!" He yelled across the table, startling everyone else.

Both Naruto and Gaara just stared at Inari before looking away. "Whatever, kid. I'm not like you." The blonde remarked.

That just made Inari more upset. "I'd hate to be like you!" He yelled. "You don't know anything about this country, yet you're being so nosy! What the hell do you know about me?! I'm different from you! You're always clowning around and acting so cheerful, you don't know how hard life can be!" He snapped with his eyes tightly closed with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Something snapped inside Naruto but it was Gaara who reacted first. He shot Inari a look before a small ball of sand shot out of his gourd and hit the boy's hat before lifting the air again, hovering over him. Dumbfounded, Inari looked at Gaara who was glaring coolly at him. The others just looked surprised before Sakura scowled at the red head. "Gaara! He's just a kid!"

"So what?" Gaara said coldly. His teal colored eyes turned back onto Inari. "If you think you have it bad, Inari, guess again. At least you were not a baby when your mother was murdered for protecting you and you remember looking into the killer's eyes." That just stunned everyone in the room, all eyes looking at the red haired Genin with alarm. "At least you can sleep at night without having to worrying about seeing monsters coming after you. I see my mother's murder's eyes every time I close my eyes." He said coldly before he stood up and turned away. He stood there for a few seconds before leaving the room.

Still a little surprised by what his best friend said, Naruto nodded into his arms, without looking up at Inari. "Gaara's right." He finally turned his fierce blue eyes onto the little boy. "So it's okay for you to pose as the star of a tragedy and cry all day?" He sat up straighter and glared fiercely at the crying boy. "Just keep on crying forever you idiot! You big baby!" Then he stood up and left the room after Gaara, leaving a trembling Inari, who lowered his head to cry more.

Late that night, Gaara was out on the docks looking out at the dark water with such a foul look on his face. He so angry at that boy, Inari. The boy acted as if everything was against him. But he really didn't know anything about true pain. He didn't know what Gaara and Naruto had gone through their entire lives.

Speaking of which, the brat was also on the docks.

Gaara could hear Inari crying again on the docks, just right around the corner. To keep himself out of view of the boy, he pressed himself against the wall in the shadows and just stood there listening to the boy's sobs. He was somewhat feeling guilty for the way he acted towards the boy, but then again, he was just so angry.

'Why don't you end the boy's misery? Kill the whelp. I need blood anyway. I want to taste blood.' Came that infernal demon's voice.

Gaara growled at him within his mind before completely ignoring him. He did not want to talk to the demon right now. More than less, bend down to his wishes. He would never, ever kill a little boy just for the demon's wishes. He refused it.

"Can I join you?" came Kakashi's voice.

The Genin's head turned to see if his sensei was there with him but then he realized that Kakashi was talking to Inari. So he just kept quiet as he listened. He wondered what Kakashi was doing.

There was a long silence between the two sitting on the docks before Kakashi looked at Inari. "Well, Naruto didn't mean any harm by what he said. Sometimes he just doesn't use his head. Neither did Gaara. Gaara can be a little harsh sometimes but he really doesn't mean to be." He tried to explain to Inari. Inari didn't reply. He just looked sadly at the water. So Kakashi continued. "Tazuna told us about your dad. Like you, Naruto and Gaara grew up without a father." That got Inari's attention. "Actually, they've never known their parents. And they've never had a single friend. Only each other. And the truth is, each of them has had a rougher past than you."

"Huh?" Inari asked.

Kakashi just nodded as looked down at Inari. "But I have never once seen them cry or complain. Naruto always…is trying his best to get people to acknowledge him…for that dream he'd his risk his life anytime. And Gaara, well….he just wants people to stop treating him like a monster." Again he got a surprised look from the small boy. "People, kids and adults alike, have treated him like he is the most dangerous monster on the planet but they never ask him how he feels about it. Naruto seems to know how Gaara feels when it comes to loneliness and pain. They're probably sick and tired of crying. They know what it really means to be strong…just like your father." He told Inari. "Naruto may understand your feelings better than anyone else. And Gaara….well, he understands them, but you must understand that, he has had the worst past than anyone could ever imagine."

"What?" The little boy asked with confusion.

Kakashi just smiled faintly at him. "Gaara doesn't know who his parents are or where he comes from. The only memory of his parents he has is the day his mother was murdered for trying to save his life from something, someone. But he doesn't know what it was and he's afraid he'll never find out." He told Inari. "And…they are both can't seem to not be concerned about you."

After that, Kakashi stood up as he patted Inari on the head. "Well, good night." He told him before he turned and went back inside.

There was a long silence as Inari just sat there on the docks, letting all of the words settle into his mind. But then he blinked when he heard the boards creak behind him making him turn to see Gaara at the corner. He froze for a second to see the red haired Genin's slightly pale face with darkness around his eyes but then he relaxed and stared up at him. Gaara was quiet for a minute before he looked away from Inari, staring off towards the water. He was trying to think of why he came out of the shadows. Something that Kakashi had said had made him come out of hiding to say something to Inari. But what was it? An apology for hitting him? He figured that was it.

"…..I'm sorry….." Inari's small voice broke into his thoughts.

Gaara blinked as he looked back at him with surprise. He didn't understand why the kid was apologizing. Wasn't it him that should have apologized? "?" He thought out loud.

Inari looked back at the dark water. There was sadness in his eyes again but he wasn't crying this time. That was a step up for him. "I….I'm sorry for what I said to you and…and Naruto. I guess you did have it harder than me. I don't think….I don't even want to imagine what it was like to not even know who my parents were. Or have the only memory of my mother being killed for protecting me from something bad. I don't…." Inari looked back at Gaara. "I wouldn't want to be in your shoes though. To know that. I….I would never want to remember my mother being murdered. And I would have wanted friends and a family."

There was a pause before Gaara's face softened a little, then he moved forward to stand behind Inari, making him have to look directly at him until his hat fell off his head. The hat rolled a little and toppled right off the docks into the water, making Inari gasp. The boy quickly got onto his hands and knees, looking at his hat with wide eyes and a groan as if he was going to cry again.

The Genin merely glanced down at him before he stepped forward to the edge and looked down at it. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on his Chakra within himself and his sand before summoning sand to form steps off the dock to the hat, hovering a foot of the water. Then Gaara stepped down onto the sand, walking along the sand while trying to concentrate hard on his hand. He took another step and another until he reached the hat. Then he bent down to pluck the hat out of the water then walked right back to the docks, calling the sand back right as he passed. Once back on the docks, he waved the hat in the air to get rid of some of the water then plopped it back onto Inari's head.

"Thanks." Gaara muttered in a quiet tone. He got a surprised look from Inari. "You just helped me walk above the water."

Inari blinked a few times before, for the first time in almost a year, he smiled up at Gaara while holding onto his hat as he looked up at him. Gaara looked back, his face softer than before but he didn't smile. Without a word, he waved a hand above Inari and his sand wrapped around the surprised Inari lifting him up. Then the sand lift him up to the second story window, Inari's room and put him inside. "Get some sleep, Inari. You're still a growing boy." Gaara said quietly. Inari just smiled down at him before he climbed off his window sill to go to bed.

Gaara watched the empty window for a minute before he sat down on the docks and looked off into the night. He was feeling much better than he had before. And he was unaware that Kakashi was looking out of the shadows, watching him. There was a soft look on his face before he turned and went inside. Things were beginning to change.


	11. Chapter Eleven

The morning soon came and the day that everyone was going to be protecting Tazuna was about to begin. However, though Kakashi, Gaara, Sakura and Sasuke were awake, Naruto was still sleeping. He still looked exhausted even if he was sleeping. So Kakashi made up his mind to let Naruto sleep in for that day.

"Goodbye! Please take care of Naruto." Kakashi told Tsunami. "He's pushed his body to the limit. I don't think he'll be able to move today."

"Yes." Tsunami just nodded as she watched the Four Shinobi walking off with Tazuna. She just smiled when her father said, "Okay. Let's super go!" He said brightly. He always had to say something with super in it, didn't he? She just shook her head as she went back inside to do some chores.

As everyone traveled down the road, Gaara walked in silence, seemingly in a better mood than he had been yesterday. He kept glances from Sakura and Sasuke but he didn't say anything as he walked right behind Kakashi. Kakashi only glanced behind him once but then looked forward again. He knew why Gaara was in a pleasant mood. But he wasn't going to say anything to the other two.

Things, however, didn't go so well as soon as they got to the bridge.

As soon as they arrived, they saw bodies lying all around the bridge floor, making everyone tense up. "Wh-What's this?!" Tazuna gasped before rushing over to one of the men on the ground. "What?! What happened?!"

The injured man was gasping in pain as he looked up at the Bridge master. "A monster….!" He gasped before closing his eyes to try and be rid of the pain.

The four Shinobi tensed as they looked around at the mess. Gaara had his arms folded over his chest as he stood completely straight, his hold already on the sand. He could sense someone close by. But where? He did not want to be in the same mess as he had been before. Then the mist came rolling in, making everyone tense and stand alert. Tazuna stood in the middle of the four Shinobi, while looking frantically around. Kakashi placed his hand on near his pack while everyone just stood ready. Gaara was keeping his arms folded over his chest though. But he was pretty sure that this was Zabuza's Hidden Mist Jutsu. And so did Sakura.

'Kakashi-sensei! This is…This is HIS Hidden Mist Jutsu, right?!"

Beside Gaara, Sasuke was shaking again, much like he had before. The red head couldn't tell if it was like last time or excitement. But either way, they were about to enter a nasty fight.  
"Long time no see, Kakashi." Came Zabuza's voice, making everyone tense. "I see you're still with those brats…." He meant the three Genin. "He's shaking again….poor kid." Zabuza said from within the thick mist before laughing.

Then all of a sudden, the mist lightened up around them and there were several Zabuzas standing all around them, making all of them jump. The Zabuza standing right in front of Sasuke caught the smirk on the Genin's face as he just looked right at him. "I'm shaking from excitement." Sasuke said smugly.

"Hmph!" All of the Zabuzas snorted.

Kakashi just smirked under his mask and looked over his shoulder at Sasuke. "Do it, Sasuke." He told him.

Sasuke nodded before charging as all of the Zabuzas started to swing their swords to cut into all of the Shinobi. He moved rapidly all around everyone, slicing through the Zabuzas. Gaara just smirked as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Look whose the show off now." He remarked before all of the Water Clones vanished with water splashing all around them. Sasuke just looked directly in front of him with a smirk on his face. "You can't fool me!" He announced.

Everyone turned to look down the bridge and spotted the real Zabuza standing with the Hunter Ninja. Zabuza was wearing the same pants from before but now he was wearing a black sleeveless shirt over his chest. The Hunter Ninja looked just about the same. Gaara just turned his body and looked directly at the boy, frowning darkly as soon as he saw him. He was highly annoyed by this brat for the deception in the beginning and he was looking forward to hurting him. But it seemed that the boy was not even considering him as a threat. He seemed to be looking at Sasuke.

"Hmm. He saw through the water clones. That brat has grown." Zabuza said tilting his head. "It looks like a rival has appeared, Haku?"

"It does indeed." Said the boy, Haku.

There was a pause as the Leaf Shinobi and the old man looked at the two Mist Ninja dryly. Out of everyone, Sakura was the only one who was surprised to see the Hunter Ninja. Kakashi just stuffed his hands into his pockets while looked at the two. "It seems my thinking was right on the mark." He stated. "The masked one….he's obviously Zabuza's comrade standing right next to him and all…"

Sakura glared right at the Mist Ninja, Haku with rage. "He should stop hiding under that mask and face us!" She said angrily.

Gaara merely glanced over at her before shaking his head. His eyes went over to Sasuke when he edged forward a little. "I'll fight him." The black haired Genin said as he glared at the boy. "Tricking us with that stupid act…I hate bastards like that the most."

"You're so cool, Sasuke!" Sakura said brightly.

Gaara just rolled his eyes, feeling highly annoyed that Sakura was praising Sasuke again. He just wished she'd get a clue that Sasuke wasn't interested. But then again, why was he complaining? He just kept his eyes forward. "Keep focused, Sakura." He stated, making her look at him with surprise.

"An impressive young man." Haku immediately stated, meaning Sasuke. "Even though the water Clones only have 1/10th the strength of the original…. Still, very impressive."

Zabuza nodded as he looked at Haku. "But we have gained the first advantage. Go!" he barked at the boy, who immediately began spinning rapidly towards them with a sharp, "Yes."

It surprised everyone only a little as Haku came spinning towards them like a tornado. Sasuke immediately moved forward to intercept the attack, his kunai slashing out at Haku, who hit it with his Senbon needle. Then they began swinging at each other with their weapons, testing their kunai abilities.

"Sakura! Gaara! Step in front of Tazuna and don't leave my side! We'll let Sasuke handle him." Kakashi said moving in front of the old man. Gaara just nodded as he and Sakura move to be in front of Tazuna, while watching the outcome of this fight. Gaara wanted to keep a good eye on this Haku. Just to memorize all of his moves for the fight with him. He was sure Sasuke could handle the Mist Ninja just fine but he really hoped that he would get a piece of him too.

"I don't want to have to kill you…." Haku's voice traveled towards them. "But you won't stand down, will you?"

Sasuke just snorted as he kept his kunai raised, blocking off the senbon needle from slicing at him. "Don't be foolish." He remarked. 

Haku just sighed under his mask. "I see…But you won't be able to keep up with my speed the next time. Plus I've already gained two advantages." He told Sasuke. 

The black haired Genin just snorted as he looked right back at his enemy. "Two advantages?"

"The first is the water on the ground. And the second is that I have occupied one of your arms." Haku stated before raising a hand and forming a sign. "You will now only able to run from my attacks."

And to everyone's surprise, he began to perform signs with just one hand. That even surprised Gaara. He had had never seen anyone do that before. And judging by the look on Kakashi's face, neither had he. So to perform hand signs with one hand was not very common at all. Haku then slammed his foot onto the ground underneath his feet and the water shot up into the air all around him and Sasuke. Even more surprising, the water formed into sharp looking needles before shooting towards Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Sakura gasped beside Gaara, who just gritted his teeth in concentrating on the fight.

However, Sasuke immediately threw up his other hand forming his own sign and closing his eyes, concentrating on what he was trying to do. Before the water needles could strike him, he leapt into the air, surprising Haku as he leaped backwards. Gaara just followed Sasuke, seeing him up in the air as he flung shuriken at Haku, who moved quickly to avoid getting hit. But Sasuke was already right behind him, holding up his kunai. "You're pretty slow…" remarked the Uchiha prodigy. "From now on….you will only be able to run from my attacks."  
Surprised, Haku whirled around with a senbon needle his hand just as Sasuke was swinging his kunai. He deflected the kunai with the needle but then had to duck just as Sasuke flicked his kunai at him. He crouched low but gasped when his "rival's" foot came spinning to meet him. It hit him hard across the face, sending him sailing backwards only to land right at Zabuza's feet, who also looked surprised.

"Looks like I have the advantage in speed." Sasuke said smugly as he stood up straight.

Kakashi chuckled as he lift his head and look directly at Zabuza. "I can't have you underestimating my team but calling them brats. Sasuke is Leaf Village's #1 rookie." He stated, motioning to Sasuke then he motioned over to Sakura. "Sakura is the brightest in the village." Sakura just blushed, looking very proud. "The other one is the show-off, hyper-active, #1 loudest ninja in the village." Said Kakashi, meaning Naruto. "And the most dangerous," he added, motioning to Gaara. "Is Gaara." Gaara only folded his arms and glared right at Haku and Zabuza, trying to prove that Kakashi was not kidding around. He was the most dangerous student in Konoha, due to Shukaku.

However, Zabuza only chuckled, making all of them frown. "Haku, do you realize? At this rate we'll be driven back." He said. Haku nodded as he stood up, just as the air began to grow cold all around them. There was an icy chill swirling around him. That didn't look good at all. "Yeah. We can't have that…." He remarked before forming a sign with his hands.

Suddenly the water all around Sasuke began to rise up, freezing into ice all around him. They began rise even higher, surrounding him and becoming….mirrors?!

Gaara frowned with the others, as they watched the ice become mirrors with an icy look about them. He could see Sasuke trapped within this Jutsu. It was like some kind of prison jutsu. And even more alarming when Haku moved forward and stepped right into the mirror, becoming almost 2D. He was also in all of the mirrors around Sasuke. That was not good at all.

"Damn it!" Kakashi exclaimed as he bolted forward. He knew that Sasuke was in a whole lot of trouble.

But Zabuza had other plans. He moved quickly, blocking Kakashi's path, keeping him from going any closer towards the icy prison that held Sasuke. "Hey, your opponent is me." He said as he kept in Kakashi's path. "Against that Jutsu, he's finished."

Kakashi gritted his teeth as he glared at Zabuza but then quickly turned sharply looking at the icy prison when there were a several shrill whistles and then Sasuke cried out in pain. From where he was standing, he could see several needles shooting from the icy mirrors and striking Sasuke everywhere. "Sasuke!" He yelled in horror. The only answer he got was Sasuke's cry in pain.

"If you get by me, I'll kill those three." Zabuza warned him.

Sakura whirled around and looked at Gaara, with worry. "Gaara, watch Tazuna, please!" She told him. Gaara just glanced at her with his arms still folded but he shook his head. "I'll go. You watch him." He told her before he began to move forward, his hand now digging into his kunai pouch.

"Oh no, you don't." Zabuza said before forming a hand signal. There was a sudden explosion and a Water Clone Zabuza leapt into Gaara's path, blocking him. He just grinned wickedly at the Genin. 

Gaara glared at him but smirked when Sakura raced right past them, throwing the kunai towards the icy prison. "Sasuke!" She screamed as she threw her kunai. But to her horror, Haku leaned out of one of his own mirrors and caught it. She gasped in shock. But Gaara kept on smirking as he nodded to Haku, motioning to right behind him. Haku quickly whirled around to see a shuriken spinning rapidly right towards his face. It slammed into his mask, knocking him right out of his ice mirror.

Startled, Zabuza jerked around with Kakashi, all eyes now looking towards an explosion of smoke. Gaara just continued to smirk as he shook his head and folded his arms. "That show off." He remarked. Haku, on the other hand, pushed himself up to his knees while looking towards the smoke. "Hyper-active, 1# loudest ninja…." He muttered.

The smoke quickly cleared and Naruto was standing there, grinning insanely as he posed for everyone. "Naruto Uzumaki! Has finally arrived!" He yelled cheerfully. "Now that I'm here everything will be fine! The main character of a story usually shows up in these types of situations and instantly…kicks the enemy's ass!"

"Naruto!" Sakura cheered.

Gaara just smirked to himself and shook his head as he tilted his head. He was used to this sort of thing when dealing with Naruto. The others shouldn't have been surprised either. However, his eyes snapped towards Zabuza when he spun around, throwing shuriken at Naruto. Kakashi was swearing up a storm as he took a step forward to go stop them but Zabuza was blocking his way again. So that left it up to Gaara. He gritted his teeth as sand immediately shot out of his gourd and sped towards the Shuriken, just as Haku was throwing senbon needles. The needles slammed into the shuriken before the sand could intercept it.

"Haku, what is this?" Zabuza asked with a growl.

Haku shook his head as he lift himself to his feet while looking at Zabuza. It was then they saw the large cut across the mask. So Naruto's shuriken had met its mark when he had first arrived. "Zabuza, these kids….please let me fight them my way." He requested. Zabuza just turned his face a little, while still looking at Haku. "So, you don't want me to interfere, Haku? You're soft as always." He stated.

That just made Gaara frown. Did he just hear that right? Haku, being soft? Right. He didn't believe that for a second. But then again….he hadn't killed Sasuke yet and he had had a chance to do it. Was he trying not to kill him?

"Hey! I came to save you!" Naruto bellowed as soon as he jumped through the mirrors to join Sasuke.

"You total moron!" Sasuke yelled from within the ice mirror prison. "If you're a Shinobi, then use your head! Why did you come inside the mirrors?! Damn it! I don't care anymore! You're an idiot!"

"What did you say?! I came to save you and this is what I get?!" Naruto yelled back.

Gaara couldn't stop himself but slap his hand to his face and groan. Trust Naruto to get himself into trouble. He dropped his hand and looked right at the Zabuza Water Clone who was chuckling darkly as he watched the mess inside. That just made the Genin smirk to himself as he folded his arms and called out his sand. Sand shot out of his gourd and sped at the Water Clone, who immediately jerked back only to get sand slammed against him and sent him bursting into water. "I'll take care of this then." He said dryly as he sent his sand flying towards the ice prison to help them out.

Suddenly another Zabuza water clone appeared right before him, swinging a fist at him. As quick reflex to that, the sand shot back and quickly shielded Gaara from it. That seemed to be Zabuza's aim because the Water clone jumped backward with his hand on his sword's handle, chuckling. "This is our fight, little kid." He remarked. Gaara growled at being called a little kid but he mildly distracted when he heard Naruto cry out in pain. "Naruto….." He found himself say.

"This Jutsu uses the mirror's reflection to transport me. From my point of view, you seem to be moving in slow-motion." Came Haku's voice. That just made Gaara frown even more to hear that. He saw Kakashi straighten a little in surprise. "For that kid to master a Jutsu like that…." Zabuza interrupted by laughing.

"Huh? Jutsu like that?" Sakura asked in confusion.

Kakashi nodded as his head dipped down a little more. He was looking very serious now. "An advanced bloodline." He informed her. "A deep blood lineage….superior genealogy….It's a Jutsu passed down by your ancestors."

"Then…." Sakura was saying sounding very worried.

Again Kakashi nodded. "Yeah, you could compare it to my Sharingan. Even I couldn't copy it. It's impossible to defeat."

Gaara just gritted his teeth before he concentrated on his sand, sending it flying now towards the Zabuza water clone, who began to dodge it, swinging his sword to keep it away. He had to get this water clone out of his way so he could go help them. But every time he moved to go to it, it got into his way swinging his sword at Gaara. So Gaara had no choice but to fight it.  
"Sasuke! Naruto! Don't lose to that guy!" Sakura yelled, distracting him a little but he immediately focused back into the water clone. But she was interrupted abruptly. 

"No, Sakura. Don't egg them on." Kakashi called to her. "Even if they could somehow defeat that technique, they cannot beat that boy."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked with a frown.

Zabuza just laughed darkly as he shook his head. "They don't yet have the strength to destroy their hearts…." He remarked. "And kill another person. That young man knows the true pain of being a Shinobi. A real Shinobi can't be created in a peaceful village like yours…because you can't gain the most important thing. The experience of killing."

Sakura gasped as she took that into though. "Then what can we do, Sensei?!" She begged. Kakashi just shook his head as he reached up and grabbed his forehead protector. "Sorry but…I'm going to end this instantly." He told Zabuza, who just chuckled.

"He, he. Sharingan, again." Zabuza said. "Is that the only thing you can do?" Before he reached into his bag behind him. Before Kakashi could even raise it, Zabuza charged forward with a nasty looking kunai blade, swinging at him. 

Kakashi quickly rose his other hand and let the kunai strike his hand. Gaara spun around to see what was happening but he was rewarded with Kakashi still alive with only blood running down his hand and arm. "You asked if it's all I can do, but you are afraid of the Sharingan…Zabuza." He growled at him.

"He, he. A shinobi's supreme technique…is not something that should be showed to the opponent over and over." Zabuza told him. Kakashi just shook his head. "You should feel honored. You're the only person to see it twice. And there won't be a third time."

"Heh…even if you defeat me, you can't win against Haku…." Zabuza told him. "Ever since he was a little kid…I taught him all kinds of fighting skills. Even facing the greatest adversity, he has succeeded. Without a heart nor fear of death. A fighting machine known as a Shinobi. And his Jutsu surpass even mine. The terrifying ability of an Advanced bloodline." He told him darkly as he yanked the kunai out of Kakashi's hand. "I gained a high quality tool for myself. Unlike the scrap that follow you around."

Kakashi just yanked up his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan. "There's nothing as boring as a man's bragging! Let's get this started!" He snapped.

"Hold on for a second." Zabuza said as he rose a hand. "I'll use your own words and brag about one more thing. The last time you said this to me…." He laughed sharply. "I've been waiting a while for this chance to use this line… 'I'll tell you this. The same Jutsu won't work twice on me.' Wasn't it? I already have seen through the trivial system of that eye. In the previous fight, I wasn't just getting beat like an idiot. I had Haku hiding in the background, examining every aspect. Haku is also bright. By seeing a technique once, he can usually come up with a way to defeat it."

Then the mist began swirling all around them, so Zabuza was using his Hidden Mist Jutsu again. Gaara just frowned before having to dodge the large blade that the water clone was using. He threw his sand towards the water clone. He could hear a several fights through the mist. Both Naruto and Sasuke were taking a beating by the sounds of it, and Kakashi was fighting nearly as hard. But right now he had his own worries to take care of. The Water Clone was moving pretty fast but…..

"Kyaaahhh!" Sakura screamed.

Gaara couldn't stop himself from looking over to see Zabuza practically materialize right behind Tazuna and Sakura. Kakashi had just leapt into the path before the Mist ninja could slice Tazuna in half, getting slashed across the chest in the process. He clapped a hand over his bleeding chest while panting in pain.

"Kakashi!" Sakura gasped.

And seeing so much blood now, and smelling it, Gaara felt Shukaku really starting to stir within his mind. He gritted his teeth as he fought to keep the demon back but ended up flinching when the Water Clone slashed out at him with the giant sword. Luckily the sand moved into the path, blocking it. Shaking, Gaara jerked around and glared at him. The Water Clone paused before swinging his sword again. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Genin's eyes had changed. They were no longer teal colored, but black and yellow.

"What….?!" He gasped as he stepped back. He could feel the sudden rise in Chakra. This was very dangerous Chakra. He had never felt anything like it. "Wh-what….kind of little monster are you?!"


	12. Chapter Twelve

Gaara growled rather inhumanly as he glared at him with Shukaku's eyes. He knew he had lost control of the demon. He was still trying to fight it back but it wasn't easy. And he wasn't the only one. There was another dangerous level of Chakra somewhere. Turning his eyes a little, he looked towards the icy prison and saw a fiery red glow. There was a swirling light within the icy prison.

"Kyuubi!" Shukaku growled, using Gaara's body before turning back to Zabuza. "I shall deal with the Nine Tails later. But first…I want blood!"

The Zabuza Water Clone stepped back again, looking rather alarmed. And even the real Zabuza turned his head to look towards Gaara. There was a dull yellow glow surrounding the Genin. "What?!" He yelled and he wasn't the only one. 

Both of the Jounin's heads jerked around to look towards the icy mirror prison then over at Gaara. "No!" Kakashi exclaimed as he tried to seek out for whose Chakra was whose. 

"What Chakra is this? It's not Kakashi's. It's too powerful to be his." Zabuza growled. "It's coming from that blonde brat and the Sand brat. What are they?!" But then using his bond with his Water Clone, his eyes widened. "What the?! The Sand brat! Isn't that…..the One Tailed?!" He growled to himself.

Gaara just glared fiercely at the Water Clone with Shukaku's eyes. He was only glad that the mist was so thick so that no one else could see him losing it like that. Especially Sakura. He did not want her to see him like this. Nor did he want Naruto to see him. He did not want to see the monster he was. 'Shukaku! Get back right now! I can handle this myself!' He thought savagely to the demon.

'There's so much blood! I want it! I want to taste the blood! Give it to me and I'll leave you alone!' snarled the demon.

Gaara winced as he fought back the sand demon. The storms inside his head were becoming too intense. He was spiraling out of control now. Gritting his teeth, he reached up and grabbed his head, trying so hard to shove the demon back. 'No!' He gasped.

"So….you're the brat that Kisame was looking for. You're the brat that carries one of the Tailed demons." The Zabuza water clone said. That snapped Gaara out of his thoughts quickly. He blinked and looked at the Water Clone, frowning with confusion. "Ah. You don't know, do you? Yes. The demon that is inside you….that's a Tailed demon. Though I'm sure you know about that. The Demon so blood thirsty that you have to feed it blood. Why do I get the feeling that you haven't been giving it that blood? No wonder you're so pale. It's taking your own blood but keeping you alive because you are its host. Ha! Foolish boy! To satisfy the Sand Demon, Shukaku's thirst, you have to kill! But you can't kill me! I'm just a Water Clone!" He laughed harshly.

Gaara winced again as he fought with the demon but then he straightened, closing his eyes for a moment before they snapped open again. This time it was his own voice. "Fine, Shukaku. You win. You want blood. I'll give it to you. Just shut the hell up." He said coldly before raising his hand and rising up his sand.

"Did you not hear what I just said?! I'm a Clone!" Zabuza laughed as he raised his sword.

Gaara just dipped his head down a little lower before throwing out his hand off towards the mist. "I heard you just fine." He said coolly. "Who says I'm targeting YOU in particular." And then the sand shot off into the mist, surprising the Zabuza Water Clone as he jerked around to see where the sand was going. And his eyes widened even more when he realized what the red head brat was targeting.

And as expected, the sand struck something.

There was a long silence in the air. The fights had stopped, with only a few poofs of something exploding into smoke. Even the Water clone exploded into water. The mist still swirled around Gaara and whoever his sand hit but it slowly faded, still keeping Sakura, Tazuna and Naruto from seeing what was going on the center. A spear of sharp sand and struck through Haku, when it had been aiming at the real Zabuza. Standing right in front of him, with his hand engulfed in blue electricity, Kakashi looked just as alarmed as Zabuza did as they looked down at the sand spear. But closing his fist, the silver-white haired Jounin called back his own Jutsu and looked at all the blood soaking into the sand. But slowly he turned his eyes towards Gaara who just standing there, eyes closed but his hand aimed towards them. Even Zabuza looked over to see who had just struck his young apprentice, but then snorted as he turned back to Kakashi.

"My future is death? Heh, You're wrong again, Kakashi." Zabuza said coolly. "My apprentice meant to stop you but it looks like it was your student that he was stopping, not you."  
Kakashi just stared at Gaara as he just stood there, letting the sand soaking up Haku's blood. "Gaara…" He muttered.

Gaara's eyes opened and his head lowered as he closed his fist, calling the sand back. At least the storm inside his head had stopped. He knew Shukaku wanted more blood but for now, he was satisfied with the small drink he just got. The sand slowly drifted back over to Gaara and slid into the gourd. He didn't even look up when Naruto rushed through the mist, only to freeze to see a very bloody Haku standing in between and equally blood Kakashi and Zabuza. The blonde didn't even seem to notice the drops of blood trailing towards his best friend, who just stood there, head lowered. His eyes were only on the still Haku, who suddenly fell against Kakashi.

Immediately, the Jounin's head jerked back as he looked down at the young Mist Ninja. The mist finally let up and Sakura gasped as soon as she saw Haku leaning against Kakashi. "Is that the masked boy?" Tazuna asked as he looked at them.

"Hehe….great job, Haku." Zabuza said as he looked right at Kakashi then began swinging his sword. Kakashi's eyes shot towards Zabuza, looking over Haku's shoulder with disgust in his eyes. "I sure picked up something useful! Giving me this final chance!"  
Before Zabuza's blade struck through, Kakashi quickly wrapped his arms around Haku and leapt back ten feet away, just as an arm made out of sand lashed out and slammed into Zabuza, knocking him side wards and shocking him and against the bridge's railing. "What the….?!" Zabuza cried out as he laid slumped against the railing and looking over at Gaara, who just remained where he was with his eyes closed. But the sand was coming from his gourd. A few eyes flickered over to him but he paid no mind. Instead, he turned slowly to face Zabuza and then opened his eyes, looking very dangerous.

"Gaara…" Kakashi said as he laid Haku out on the ground. Obviously, Haku was dead. "….Naruto…stay there." He then closed Haku's still open eyes before slowly standing up. "This is my fight." He said dangerously.

"Naruto! Gaara! You're all right!" Sakura cheered. "What about Sasuke? Naruto! Where is Sasuke?!"  
Naruto gave the pink haired girl a wide-eyed look before he looked away, pained. Gaara blinked just as Sakura had. They just stared at him for a long moment before they both looked over to where the ice mirrors had been, only to see Sasuke lying on broken ice shards. And none of them seemed to have even notice that the fight between Kakashi and Zabuza had already began. Instead, Sakura and Tazuna both raced over to where Sasuke laid. Gaara just stood right where he was looking after them. But as Sakura stood above Sasuke, just by seeing the look on her face from there, he could see that she was staring wide eyed down at the motionless Sasuke. Then she dropped down by his side and burst into tears.  
Finally, Gaara had to look away, turning towards the railing of the bridge and walked over to it. He could hear the fight between Kakashi and Zabuza but he was not interested in watching it. His mind was on what he had just done. He had killed Haku while trying to kill Zabuza. He had KILLED.

'Feels good, doesn't it?' Shukaku asked chuckling darkly.

'Shut up.' Gaara thought softly as he placed his hands onto the railing and just closed his eyes. He hadn't needed to look at Haku's face to see the vacant, dead expression when he had struck him with his sand. It was…was almost too painful to even think about.

'Ahh, come on. You enjoyed it, didn't you? I sure did.'  
Gaara's eyes snapped opened before he slammed a fist onto the railing. "Shut up! Just shut up!" He snapped out loud. He was sure that caught someone's attention but he really didn't care right now. He just wanted the demon to shut the hell up. He didn't want to think about it right now.

"He, he. So, what's going on?" came a very unfamiliar voice.

Gaara frowned as he turned around and looked at who just arrived. His eyes fell onto a very short old man who was very richly dressed with a cane into his hand. Just by the sight of this man, Gaara felt rage burning in his heart. This had to be Gatou. The man who ordered Inari's father's life to be taken. "Ooh. You're getting your ass kicked. How disappointing." Gatou said. And right behind him was a huge crowd of men who were all armed to the teeth.

"Gatou." Zabuza said darkly as he turned around, his arms hanging uselessly at his sides. "Why are you here? And what's with all these men?"  
Gatou just chuckled harshly as he placed both hands onto his cane. "The plan has changed. Well, actually I planned to do this from the beginning. Zabuza, I'm going to have you killed here." He said with dark amusement.

"What?" Zabuza asked as he straightened.

The wealthy man just grinned wickedly at him. "I never planned on paying you any money. Hiring a normal ninja from the village is expensive and they may betray me. So I get you missing ninjas who are easy to take care of afterwards. I have the ninjas battle each other and once their weakened, I kill them off with numbers. It doesn't cost me anything. Good plan, don't you think?" He asked. "The only problem in the plan was you, Zabuza. The Devil of the Hidden Mist? What a joke, if you ask me. You're just a cute little baby devil."  
"We can easily kill you now!" All of the men cheered right behind him.

Frowning, Gaara dropped his hands from the railing and turned to get a better look at Gatou and his men. He tilted his head towards Naruto when he stepped closer. "Who are these guys? So many of them…."  
"Kakashi….I'm sorry. This fight is over." Zabuza suddenly said. "Now that I have no reason to go after Tazuna, I have no reason to fight you."  
Kakashi just stared sideward at him before he nodded and stood up. "You're right." He said as he looked back towards Gatou.

Gatou, on the other hand just walked forward, coming to the body of Haku. He simply looked down at him, looking so curious. "Oh yeah. I owe this one…" He chuckled. "You squeezed my arm until it broke." Then he kicked Haku hard in the head, even though it didn't do any good. "He's dead." He laughed.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU BASTARD!" Naruto roared with rage before bolting forward.

Gaara somewhat felt what Naruto was feeling, even though Haku had been his enemy. To do that to someone's dead body, that just pissed Gaara off. He wanted to join Naruto in charging at Gatou but he didn't because Kakashi grabbed a hold of Naruto, holding him back. "Hey! Look at their numbers, don't just jump in!" The Jounin said sharply.

Naruto tried to yank free but couldn't. So he looked at Zabuza. "Say something too! Weren't you friends?" He yelled at the Mist Ninja.

"Shut up, kid." Zabuza said dryly. "Haku is already dead."  
Naruto just exploded as he glared at Zabuza's back. "Don't' you feel anything at all?! Weren't you always together?!" He exclaimed. Zabuza didn't look at him but kept his back to Naruto. He was quiet for a minute but then his face-hardened. "As I was used by Gatou, I used Haku. That's all it was. I've said it already. In the world of the Shinobi, there are only those use and those who are used." He informed him. "We Shinobi are simply tools. What I wanted was his blood. Not him. I have no regrets."  
"It's too bad that you didn't take it then. It seems to me," Gaara said dryly as he kept his eyes trained right at Gatou. "I'm the one who took it."  
That got some surprised looks from Naruto and Kakashi but then the blonde decided that he would ask later. He just looked right at Zabuza. "Do you really mean that?" He asked then yanked away from Kakashi.

"Stop, Naruto! We are not fighting him anymore. Plus…." Kakashi was saying.

But Naruto shook his head as he jabbed a fighter towards Zabuza. "Shut up!" He barked. "My enemy is still him!"  
There was a long silenced while Naruto was panting hard as he just looked right at Zabuza. Zabuza tilted his head, looking at the blonde from the corner of his eyes. Gaara did the same. He knew that Naruto was in a lot of pain by what happened to Haku and Zabuza's reaction towards him.

"Who is this annoying kid?" Gatou asked simply. Gaara shot the rich man a very dirty look. He had the sudden urge to just kill this old man and let Shukaku be satisfied with more blood. But he held himself back.

"He….! He really loved you! He loved you so much!" There was a pause. "Do you really feel nothing?! Do you really, really not feel anything?!" Naruto yelled with tears in his eyes. "If I become as strong as you…will I really become like you?! He threw away his life for you!" Then he lowered his head. "Without his own dream….to die as a tool….that's…just too sad…" And then Naruto broke down. Even Gaara felt the soreness in his throat. He had never cried in his life, other than he was just a tiny baby. But this was starting to get to him. He felt the guilt of Haku's death on his conscious and that was what made him close his eyes and turn his head away.

"Kid….." Zabuza's rough voice came, making all of them look back. Slowly, the Mist Ninja turned back around and looked directly at Naruto. "You don't need to say any more…." He said softly, tears running down the cruel ninja's cheeks. So he had finally cracked after all that Naruto had just said. "Kid….it pained him to have to fight you….Haku fought not only for me…he fought for you guys too. He was too kind." He said before he began to chew on the bandages, trying to tear them apart since his arms were useless because of Kakashi's attacks on him. Then he spat them out onto the ground. "I'm glad I got to face you guys in the end. Yeah, kid….you may be right."  
"Huh?" Naruto muttered out loud as he wiped his cheeks.

Zabuza nodded as he turned his head away. "A shinobi is still a human…we may not be able to become emotionless tools. I've lost." He paused before looking back at Naruto. "Kid, let me borrow your kunai."  
"Huh? Oh." Naruto muttered before tossing his kunai towards Zabuza. "Yeah."  
And Zabuza caught the kunai right out of the air with his mouth. He was glaring at Gatou with his fierce eyes. Then without a word, he bolted towards the businessman. There was no doubt that he meant to kill Gatou. Gatou realized this because he turned and ran towards the large number of men. "That's enough! Kill them!" He yelled as he quickly pushed into the large crowd.

"Sure thing!" The men yelled before blocking off Zabuza's path. "One badly injured ninja against these numbers? You think you can win?!"  
But they were in for a surprise as Zabuza kept on running towards them. The dangerous look on his face scared quite a few, for they saw the devil through him. But then a huge cloud of sand rolled out behind him and several eyes looked to see Gaara glaring at them with his arms folded across his chest. Zabuza merely glanced over his shoulder before he kept up his pace, crashing through the crowds of men. He didn't seem to even notice all the weapons starting to slash into his body. But it was slowing him down. That is until the cloud of sand swept over the crowd of men before shoving them all off to the side. Zabuza had his eyes closed so that he didn't get sand into his eyes but once he approached Gatou and the sand stopped, following him and threw the men away from him, his eyes shot open and he lunged at Gatou. The kunai in his mouth stabbed deep into Gatou's side, making him cry out in pain as he stood there.

"I…If you want to go to the same place as your friend, then go!" Gatou yelled with blood now trickling down his chin.

Zabuza just chuckled as he kept his teeth clenched tight on the handle of the kunai. "Unfortunately….I don't plan on going to the same place as Haku…." He said even with his teeth on the Kunai.

"Wh-what? You won't survive…." Gatou said uneasily.

Zabuza just chuckled darkly as he stood there with series of weapons in his back and sides. "You and I together…..ARE GOING TO HELL!" He yelled before yanking the kunai out of Gatou's side. "Even the unremarkable Devil of the Hidden Mist can die and become a real devil in hell! This will be fun! We'll have plenty of time to see if I'm a baby devil in Hell!" Then he threw his head towards Gatou's, letting the blade slice right through the rich man's neck.

The head of Gatou went flying before crashing down in the middle of the crowd.

There were panicked and disgusted yells from the men as they all leapt away from the head and away from Zabuza, who stood above the body of Gatou. He was looking directly at the men, who all gasped in fear and scampered back afraid that they were next. The Mist Ninja dropped the bloody kunai from his mouth before dropping himself.

Now, there was silence.

Everyone just stared at the body of Zabuza as it just lied there, blood splattering the bridge road. No one could say anything as they stared at it. Naruto, Gaara and Kakashi stood together, looking at the crowd and at the body of Zabuza. But it was too much for both Naruto and Gaara. They started to turn their faces away from the sight.  
"Don't look away. The end of a man who lived a difficult life." Kakashi told them. Naruto just nodded and kept looking.

But it was too much for Gaara. He had seen too much blood already and Shukaku was growling for more than he already took. So he turned away and walked past Naruto, pausing when Kakashi reached up and placed a hand onto his shoulder. There was a pause between the two before Gaara shook his head. "I can't look anymore, Kakashi." He muttered.

"…..I know….." Kakashi muttered back before dropping his hand and letting him go.

Gaara just called back all of his sand into his gourd and walked over to where Sakura was crying over Sasuke's body. He felt a tinge of pain in his chest to see Sasuke like this. But then he paused. He saw the sudden change with Sasuke. He was breathing and that made his face brighten a little. So Sasuke was not dead.

"….Sakura…..you're heavy…." Sasuke groaned.

Sakura jumped as she lift her head and looked back down at him. Her eyes grew very wide to see his eyes weakly open. She looked like she was going to start crying again. "Sasuke!" She gasped in tears before throwing her arms around him, hugging him tight.

"Sakura….that hurts…." Sasuke groaned, wincing.

Sakura pulled away, giving him a little smile. "Sorry." She muttered. But then she looked up when Gaara stood above them, arms folded across his chest as he looked down at him. "Suck it up, Sasuke. You're a Shinobi." He remarked. Sasuke just sat up, giving him a dry look. "Shut up, Gaara." He said dryly before trying to get to his feet, only making it to his knees. "What about Naruto? And that masked kid?" He asked weakly.

"Don't move! Naruto is fine! And that masked kid is dead." Sakura told him.

That surprised Sasuke. He looked at her with alarm as he slowly began pulling the needles out of his arms and legs. But doing it carefully. "Dead? Did Naruto kill him?" he asked looking between Sakura and Gaara. Gaara looked away, his face once again passive. But Sakura shook her head. "No. I'm not sure….but he protected Zabuza….." She said uneasily.  
Sasuke was looking up at Gaara, noting the look on his face. He was quiet for a few seconds before looking down at the ground. "I see…." He muttered.

"I had faith in you! It's impressive that you prevented attacks to your critical areas!" Sakura said brightly as she beamed at Sasuke. Sasuke just shook his head with a serious look on his face. He seemed to be thinking deeply on it. And Gaara knew what he was thinking. Haku…like Zabuza had said…had missed all of Sasuke's vital areas on purpose. "Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she stood up, catching the blonde's attention. "He's all right! Sasuke is alive!"  
Naruto turned around and looked at them just as Gaara reached down and helped Sasuke to his feet. He was surprised but he lowered his head with tears in his eyes again. Even Kakashi was looking over at them. "I've been worried. But…Sasuke is also alright. That's great." He said softly.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! You guys are too at ease!" Shouted one of the men.

Everyone blinked and turned around to look at all the men still there. They were all sneering towards the group of Shinobi while waving their weapons into the air. "Damn ninjas! You killed our meal ticket!" One shouted.

"You guys are dead!" shouted another.

"We're gonna pillage this city and take anything of value!" said a third.

Then all of the men began charge towards them with weapons brandishing. They were all cheering battle cries. All of the Shinobi tensed as they looked right at the charging crowd. 

"Damn…this is bad." Kakashi swore loudly as he stood up straight. 

Naruto sharply looked over at him with alarm. "Kakashi-sensei! Don't you have a special Jutsu to defeat them all?!" He gasped. 

Kakashi only shook his head as they grabbed at their Kunai. "I can't. After the Lightning Blade, summoning my ninja dogs and Sharingan, I used too much Chakra!"  
Gaara frowned as he moved forward his hands raising up as he began summoning his sand out of his gourd. "I'll take care of this then." He growled between gritted teeth. 'I guess I can shed a little more blood than I've already done.' He thought to himself.

Thunk!  
Everything seemed to stop when the arrow came out of nowhere, landing between the crowd of men and the Shinobi. Frowning, everyone turned around only to freeze with surprise. The entire city was there on the bridge with Inari in the lead, holding a crossbow, which the arrow had come from.

"If you come any further onto our island, the citizens of this country will stop you with everything we've got!" Shouted Inari looking very fierce. Tazuna just looked at him with surprise before his face softened as tears came to his eyes. He realized that Inari had finally found his true courage. And so had the people of his city. 

Naruto grinned as he looked at t he boy. "Inari!" He cheered. Inari looked and grinned at him as he laughed. "A hero shows up at the last second, right?!" He called to him before waving at Gaara. "Hi, Gaara!"  
Gaara's face softened and his lips curved upward before he turned around to face the large crowd of criminals and thugs. He saw Naruto also turn before forming a sign with his hand. "Ok! I can help out! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He yelled and four Narutos appeared right behind him. Kakashi snorted as he turned around and stood up straight, forming the same sign. There was an explosion of smoke and nearly thirty Kakashis appeared right behind the real Kakashi.

If that wasn't enough, a huge cloud of sand rose up behind them, forming of the image of a large dragon, spreading it's wings wide above all of the Kakashis. A thin trail of sand coming out from behind Gaara as he folded his arms, looking as intimidating as he could.

"GAAAAHHH!" All of the thugs cried out in fear.

"You want some of this?" All of the Kakashis said at the same time.

But the men were already running away yelling out in fear. "No we don't! Let's get out of here!" They cried as they ran and jumped onto a large boat, which was where they had come in the first place. A sudden burst of cheers broke out from the entire city folk. Inari was jumping up and down with happiness with the rest of them. "We did it!" They all shouted. Then with a burst of smoke, all of the Shadow Clones vanished and the sand retreated back into Gaara's gourd.

Then it was quiet.

Gaara turned around to see Kakashi walking over to Zabuza's body, who was strangely still alive. Slowly, the young Genin walked over with him, looking down at Zabuza. Zabuza weakly looked up at Kakashi and Gaara before turning his eyes back onto the pavement under him. "It looks like it’s over…..Kakashi….." He said weakly. "Kaka….shi…I have a request…."  
"What is it?" Kakashi asked softly.

"I…want to see his face…." Zabuza said weakly.

There was a pause as Kakashi and Gaara looked down at the Mist Ninja before they slowly began pulling the swords and spears out of his back, much to his pain. "Sure…." Kakashi muttered softly before he bent down and picked Zabuza up. Unfortunately, Kakashi wasn't feeling his greatest and winced. But then slowly sand began curl around Zabuza, making Kakashi blink in surprise then look down at Gaara as he stared at the dying Mist Shinobi. The young Genin looked up at him as he let his sand carefully lift Zabuza up and out of his arms then slowly carried him towards Haku. Kakashi's face just softened as he let his student take him. He nodded as he walked with Gaara in taking Zabuza over to Haku's body. Gaara walked close to Zabuza, looking at him from the corner of his eyes. "…..Zabuza….I'm…..I didn't mean to kill….." He muttered.

"….ah….shut up, kid." Zabuza groaned. "…I know what happened…..I sa-saw what was going on between you and my Water clone….I know…what….you are….."  
Gaara winced and looked away. He was pretty sure that Zabuza wanted to call him a murdering monster for killing Haku. He was sure that the Mist Ninja hated him for what he did to his young friend. He didn't blame him. But….Zabuza didn't call him a monster. Instead, he reached over and placed a hand onto Gaara's shoulder, making him look back at him.  
"….you….are a young…...Ninja…not even close to being a mons-monster like….me. Do not….ever let them think…you are otherwise…" Zabuza muttered weakly to him. "….that demon…..is nothing….compared to you…."  
Gaara looked at him with surprise before he realized that they were at Haku's body now. He just continued to stare at Zabuza who looked upward, frowning. That was when something very cold fell onto the Genin's cheek. Frowning, he looked upward with everyone else, only to see snow.

"It's snowing….." Naruto muttered in awe.

There were murmurs from everyone on the bridge as they looked upward at the falling flakes of white. "Snow at this time of year?" muttered a villager. Gaara was just as awed as everyone else. It wasn't everyday you saw snow like this.

"Haku…..are you crying…." Zabuza asked. Gaara blinked before looking at the Mist Ninja. He was surprised to see how soft Zabuza's face was. Slowly, the Genin lowered the Mist Ninja down onto the ground, next to Haku's body. "Thanks….kid….Kakashi…." Zabuza said before turning his head to look at Haku. With a shaky hand, he reached over and touched Haku's face. He was quiet for a minute before he sighed. "If I could….I'd like to…go to the same place…..as you…" He said gently then his eyes closed.

Beside Gaara, Naruto was sobbing. He had tears running down his cheeks as he looked down at the two Mist Ninja that had once been their enemies. For all that they had done, Gaara couldn't find himself to hate these two anymore. And what was more, his eyes shifted to his sand still hovering around him, his sand was not only soaked in Haku's blood, but now Zabuza's. His blood had gotten all over the sand while carrying him. 'I hope you're happy now, you demon.' He thought savagely at Shukaku.

'No, not really. I wouldn't mind having more blood.' Then he cackled with vicious humor.

Gaara had the urge of striking out at the demon but he knew it was impossible. He just wished there was some way he could. But instead, he looked down at the bodies of Zabuza and Haku.

________________________________________  
Two weeks later, the Shinobi had buried Zabuza and Haku in the forest near the clearing and the spring where the Genin had trained. They had placed flowers and food offerings for them at the crosses where they had hung some of their belongings. Zabuza's huge sword was stuck in the ground of Zabuza's grave. The Leaf Shinobi were about to be on their way back to Konohagakure but they had decided to visit their graves before they left the Land of the Waves.

Slap!  
"Ouch!" Naruto yelped after getting his hand slapped by Sakura. He had been trying to reach over and take one of the rice balls that sat before the crosses. 

Sakura just glared at him, her teeth clenched tightly. "What are you doing?! That's bad karma!" She shouted at him. Then she sighed and looked back at the graves. "But….Kakashi-sensei?"  
"Hmm?" Kakashi asked as he stood right next to Gaara and Sasuke.

Sakura tilted her head as she stood before Haku's cross, looking saddened yet confused. "Were these two correct about ninjas?" She asked softly. 

Kakashi was quiet for a minute but then shook his head. "A Shinobi isn't supposed to pursue his own goals. Becoming the country's tool is most important…that's the same for the Leaf Village." He told them. 

Naruto sighed, not liking that at all. "Is that what it really means to become a true ninja?" He made a face. "You know what?! I don't like it!" He said bitterly. Gaara had to agree with him. He didn't like to be anyone's tool. And he swore that he would never be one. 

Beside him, Sasuke looked over at Kakashi. "You believe that too?" He asked quietly. 

Kakashi glanced at him before looking at the graves again. "Well….each and every ninja has to live while dealing with that issue. Just like Zabuza….and that boy."  
There was a silence before Naruto groaned, making the weirdest face. "Okay. I just decided! I'm going to be a ninja in my own way!" He said. Everyone looked at him before they all smiled or chuckled.

Later that day, they were on their way across the bridge, with Tazuna and his family escorting them. Just to say their goodbyes. Tazuna smiled at the Shinobi as they made their goodbyes. "Thanks to you, we've completed the bride….but this is super sad." The old man said softly.

"Thank you for everything." Kakashi told him as he bowed his head to the family.

Naruto just grinned, weakly as he looked right at Inari. Don't worry! We'll come to visit!" He said, though he was a little unsure. Inari just whimpered as he looked at the blonde and Gaara. There were tears in his eyes but he was fighting to keep them back. "You….better…." He said weakly. Just by hearing him say it like that, Naruto almost started crying. "Inari…you're sad right? It's all right to cry."  
Inari shook his head as he looked at him. "I'm not going to cry! But Naruto, you can cry too!" He cried out anyway.

Naruto just looked at him before spinning away. "Fine….later…." He told him, surprising Inari. But he was crying anyway. Sakura stared at him with a dull look but she shook her head. Gaara just watched his friend before turning back to the sobbing Inari. He gave him a soft look. Inari tried to smile at him but he did it very weakly. 

So instead, he waved. Gaara just nodded before he turned to leave. But not before he heard the last bit of the family's conversation. "That boy…both of them changed Inari's heart….and Inari changed the people's hearts…that boy gave us a bridge to hope, called courage." Tazuna said softly. "Bridge….oh yeah…We need to name this bridge."

"Well I have a super perfect name for this bridge!" Inari said brightly.

"Oh? What is it?" Tazuna asked.

Gaara could almost hear Inari grinning as he jumped up and down behind him and the others. "How about…The Great Naruto Bridge?!" Inari asked brightly. And Gaara smiled.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

It took almost a week on getting back to Konoha. Hardly a word was passed between the members of Team Kakashi. And the return went rather smoothly with no problems at all. They ran into no trouble at all as they traveled down the road that would take them straight back to the Leaf Village. Once they arrived, all of them went their separate ways, going straight home. Kakashi went to make his reports to the Hokage, letting him know exactly how the mission went.

However, before Gaara went home, Kakashi pulled him off to the side, already guessing what had been on the Genin's mind all this time. He couldn't blame Gaara for thinking about what he did to Haku. It had been something that he shouldn't have gone through. Not this early as a Shinobi. But it had happened.

"Gaara, I'm not going to tell the Hokage that you were the one who killed Haku." Kakashi stated.

Gaara blinked in surprise as he looked up at him. He hadn't been expecting his sensei to say that. But….why wouldn't he tell the Hokage? Wasn't it his duty to tell the Leader of Konohagakure all about the mission? Even of Shukaku's thirst for blood during the mission? "What? But….why?" He asked quietly.

Kakashi just looked away as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I have my reasons, Gaara. I just don't think it would be a good idea to tell the Hokage that you almost lost control with Shukaku because of all the blood you saw and smelled." He shook his head. "I think it's something I'm going to take care of myself and not concern the Hokage with it. In the mean time, just get some rest. Things are going to get very interesting from this moment on out." He told him before he left.

That was nearly a week in a half ago.

And the pathetic missions had returned. As soon as they got back into the action, Team Kakashi were given back the lame missions. For nearly a week now, they were given missions like pulling weeds out of the ground all over the village or cleaning out the ditches and fountains. So it was back to the grunt work and that really annoyed Gaara. It annoyed all of them. And it really started to show that their team was suffering a little between Naruto and Sasuke. Every since they had gotten back from the Land of Waves, the two could not get along. They always glared at one another. It didn't really help Gaara's nerves when Naruto started yelling at Sasuke, raising his voice even louder. As if he wasn't annoyed enough. And it didn't help whenever Sasuke gave him, Gaara, a dry look. It was like he knew something about Gaara that he didn't like. And that didn't settle too well on the red head's part.

One day, after cleaning the Hokage monuments, Naruto looked rather tired, and sore. But that was because he fell off one of the ledges, hiding his head. Gaara was highly annoyed that day as well. He had listened to Naruto and Sasuke bickering a little about some of the simplest things. And Shukaku wasn't helping his case with picking up a storm in his head. He was starting to get blood thirsty again and demanding that Gaara killed something, but of course, he was ignored.

"It's because you push yourself too much." Sakura muttered dryly at Naruto's groaning.

Gaara walked beside Kakashi while watching as his friend just leaned against Sakura, looking terrible. Sasuke just sighed and shook his head. "Pft. Can't you take care of yourself?" He remarked. As usual, Naruto over reacted. He let out a yell of rage and tried to charge at Sasuke. "God dammnit! Sasuke!" He yelled but Sakura held him back.

"Hmm. Teamwork seems to be suffering lately…." Kakashi said in a low voice.

Naruto, however, agreed in a certain way. "Yeah! Yeah! You're the one ruining our teamwork, Sasuke! Always hogging the spotlight, you bastard!" He yelled after Sasuke, who was walking away now.

"That's you, you moron." Sasuke said dryly. "If you want me to stop making you look bad….then just become stronger than me….and Gaara."

Naruto just growled with anger as he and Sasuke glared at one another. Gaara just rolled his eyes as he folded his arms. He was getting tired of all this bickering between the two. And yet, he didn't like the way that Sasuke was talking to Naruto. But he didn't say anything. For something else caught his attention. One of the Konoha hawks were flying around above their heads. He remembered if one of those were flying around, then there was official business needed to be taken care of.

"Okay. That's it for today." Kakashi announced. "I have to go submit the mission report."

Everyone nodded and started to take off. Gaara just shook his head as he headed straight home. He didn't want to listen to the drama that was going to happen between Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. It was sad enough as it was. Even though, sometimes Gaara just wished that something would just change.

Gaara did a lot of walking around, not wanting to go home just yet. He was actually thinking a lot lately about what was going to happen from then on. He was also wondering what Jiraiya was doing. It had nearly been six months since he last seen the Legendary Shinobi. He wondered how the old man was. He knew that Jiraiya was probably off doing his research for one of his weird, perverted books or whatever. Thinking about Jiraiya made Gaara's lips curl up into a smile a little. He couldn't wait till the white haired Sanin got back. He would have to tell him about his mission. Then Gaara frowned, as he looked away. He would have to tell him about how he almost lost control of Shukaku too. Maybe Jiraiya could help him with that problem.

"Ahh! Oh….it's just you, Gaara."

Blinking, Gaara snapped out of his thoughts and looked forward to see the young boy, and grandson of the Hokage, Konohamaru. He was also with two other kids, a boy and a girl. He remembered seeing him hanging around Naruto a few times. He was one of the few kids that didn't mind Gaara. But that was probably because of Naruto. Konohamaru really looked up to the blonde and in a way, Gaara didn't mind the boy.

But something caught Gaara's eye. There was a bruise on Konohamaru's cheek. So something, or someone, had hit him.

"Konohamaru, what happened to your cheek?" Gaara asked in a low voice.

The boy reached up and rubbed his cheek but then made a face as he looked bitterly away. "Some really mean foreigner hit me for running into him. It's all that big forehead girl's fault! You know the one that Big Bro Naruto likes! If she wasn't chasing me and Naruto, I wouldn't have ran into that jerk!" He shook his head. "Anyway, he hit me and Naruto got mad at him and he tried to pick a fight with Naruto. He was pretty scary though." He told Gaara.

Hearing that someone had tried to pick a fight with Naruto made Gaara's eyes darkened. "They didn't hurt Naruto, did they?" He asked darkly.

"Just his ego. That show off, Sasuke showed up and made him look real stupid." Konohamaru told him. He suddenly got a very bright eyed look on his face as he looked at Gaara. "You're going to tell that guy and that broad off for picking on Naruto, aren't you?!"

Gaara looked away as he thought about it before turning away from him. "Where are these two that picked a fight with Naruto?" He asked dryly.

Grinning, Konohamaru pointed down the road. "Last I saw 'em, they were headed towards the inn. But I don't think they are there right now. Besides, there was a bunch of Shinobi already confronting them about it." He told him. Gaara just nodded as he started walking down the road. He knew that he couldn't make a scene right now. There was going to be big trouble if he did. So he would wait for now.

________________________________________

The next day, Team 7 was going to meet on the bridge for their day's missions. Gaara was the first one there and was soon as joined by Sasuke. There was still a little tension on the other boy but they didn't say anything. And then a very annoyed and hopeless looking Sakura showed up. Gaara could only wonder what was wrong with her. And then when Gaara caught sight of a ball of energy Naruto hurrying towards them. He looked rather put out as if someone had scolded him. He didn't even notice Gaara at all. "Naruto." Gaara said, getting his blonde friend's attention. Naruto turned towards him before grinning and rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, Gaara! How's it going?" He asked brightly.

"I heard someone tried to pick a fight with you." Gaara immediately got down to business.

Naruto blinked in surprise before he nodded and folded his arms, rather moodily. "Yeah. Some jerk called Kankuro. He was being mean to Konohamaru just because he accidentally ran into him. And then I told him off for hitting 'Maru and then he said I'm a dobe who needed a lesson taught to me. And I said he was too stupid to teach me a lesson and then he rose a fist to hit me. Then Sasuke HAD to show up when I could have taken care of it myself!" He grumbled, shooting the black haired boy a dark look, who only rolled his eyes and looked away. "And, some blonde chick showed up, his older sister, I guess and told him off for picking fights with us and said that we, the Leaf Ninja, weren't even worth fighting. She was a real bitch!" He growled.

Gaara stared dryly at him but then shook his head as he started to look a little more moody than before. He wanted to fight out who these people were. "Naruto, what did they look like and where are they?" He asked darkly.

Sakura blinked as she looked at him, sharply. "Gaara! There are rules about fighting foreigners who are visiting our village. You can get into a lot of trouble for it. Besides, it was already taken care of last night. I heard that their sensei reprimanded the Sand Ninja for it yesterday." She told him.

That got Gaara's attention.

The red haired Genin blinked in surprise before looking at her with interest. Sasuke spotted that look and rolled his eyes. He already knew that his team mate was definitely wanting to see these visitors now. "Now you've done it, Sakura." He said dryly folding his arms.

"Huh?" Sakura asked looking at Sasuke then back at Gaara, finally noticing the look.

Gaara frowned at her before looking at Naruto, who looked very puzzled indeed. He hadn't caught onto what Sasuke meant just yet. "Naruto," began the sand controlling Genin. "Where can I find these Sand Ninja?" he asked. Sakura squeaked as she pointed at him, looking almost panicky. "Gaara! No! You can't go picking a fight with them! You will seriously get into a whole lot of trouble!" She told him sternly. Gaara just shook his head as he turned away. He didn't want to argue with her right now. He just wanted to take a look at the Sand Ninja and maybe teach them a lesson for picking on Naruto and Konohamaru.

"Morning, people!" called Kakashi as he appeared on the bridge's girders above them. "Today, I got lost on the road of life."

Annoyed, Gaara glared up at the Jounin with the others, a big fat sweat drop starting to fall from his temple. Sasuke looked just as annoyed but not surprised because of one of Kakashi's lame excuses again. They shouldn't be too surprised with Kakahi's knack of being late again and again. "Yeah right! Liar!" Both Naruto and Sakura shouted up at them.  
Kakashi just shook his head as he jumped down to them and looked directly at Gaara, his one revealed eye heavy lidded. "Gaara, I heard that last bit from you and Sakura. And she's right. It's not allowed to confront visitors for picking on your friends. Especially at a time like this." He told him. "It will only get you into a lot of trouble. And right now, you don't need that trouble. And I would very much appreciate it if you didn't go bothering the Sand Ninja right now. I know that you're a little curious about them because of where they're from but I'm afraid that the Hokage doesn't want you to meet them before the Chuunin Exams. You'll get your chance there." He told them.

"Huh?!" Both Naruto and Sakura asked at the same time. Even Gaara and Sasuke's attentions were caught.

Kakashi just nodded as he dug into his hip pouch and pulled out four sheets of paper. "This is sudden, but I've nominated you guys for the Chuunin Selection Exam." He told the four Genin, who all looked very surprised.

"What did you say?!" Sakura gasped.

"You think that makes up for….!" Naruto was exclaiming.

But Kakashi thrust the papers towards them. "Here are your applications." He told them. There was a pause before Naruto grinned as he lunged at Kakashi and threw his arms around him, hugging the bewildered Jounin. "Kakashi! I love you!" He said cheerfully. Kakashi just tried to peel the blonde off, looking highly annoyed.

After a little fight of trying to get him off, the Jounin gave each of the four their papers before stepping back. "Though this is just a nomination, whether to take the exam is up to each of you. Those who wish to take it should sign those papers and turn them in at Room 301 by 4PM tomorrow. That is all." He told them before he vanished. 

The four Genin just walked together across the bridge, heading out to do their own thing. Naruto was staring at his paper with a huge grin. "Chuunin Exam! Chuunin Exam! There's going to be a lot of strong guys in this thing! Like him!" He said thinking of someone then shooting Sasuke a look. But instead of saying anything to him he turned and looked at Gaara. "Come on, Gaara! Let's do it together! Together, we'll beat everyone in the exams and I can become the next Hokage! I'll make you…...my second in command! Or Captain of the Shinobi!" he said excitedly.

Gaara just stared at him, not entirely interested. His interests were mostly in finding out about these Sand Ninja. He just wanted to know who they were and what they were like. The very word, Sand just interested him. He paused when he saw that even Sasuke looked a little excited about the exams. His dark eyes were actually glancing over at him now and then.

And that's when Gaara realized it.

It wasn't entirely Naruto that Sasuke saw as a rival. It was also him. This brought a smirk to Gaara's face. He knew a challenge when he saw it. Sasuke read his look and smirked right back before both of them turned away and went the opposite directions. They were definitely going to do go through with this Chuunin exams. If it meant they got to fight each other, definitely.

However, Gaara stopped walking when he saw Sakura standing in the middle of the bridge, looking down at her Chuunin application papers with a sad look. She did not look excited at all. She actually looked very happy about this at all. So he walked up to her, tilting his head curiously. Blinking, Sakura realized that she wasn't alone and she looked up at Gaara. She was surprised for a moment before she tried to smile brightly. "Oh! Hi, Gaara! I didn't know you were still there! Did you need something?"

Gaara just shook his head as he stared at her. He was trying to figure out what was wrong with her but he wasn't the best at reading someone. "No. But that's what I want to ask you. What's wrong?"

"Oh! No! There's nothing wrong!" Sakura gasped blushing. She just shook her head and waved her hands in embarrassment. "Nothing at all! I just…um, I just….." She paused when Gaara folded his arms and gave her a dull look. She sighed and dropped her arms. "It's that obvious?"

"Hmm. So obvious that if Naruto was actually paying attention, he'd notice." Gaara remarked.

Sakura winced before she shook her head and went over to the bridge railing, looking down at the water below. She knew that Gaara was watching her but she didn't look at him. Gaara just watched her for a minute before going over to joining her, his head still tilted so he could see her face better. The pink haired glanced at him before looking back down. "I….I don't think I want to compete in the Chuunin Exams." She told him sadly.

Gaara blinked but looked at her with confusion. "Why not?" He asked quietly.

Sakura just shook her head as she kept her eyes adverted away from him. "Well….it's because I'm so weak, Gaara. Out of all of us, I'm the only one who hasn't progressed at all since the Mission in the Land of Waves. Naruto has become so strong and Sasuke has achieved his Sharingan trait. You have better control over your sand and you can stand on it in the air. Me? All I ever did was stand back and watch. I can't even keep up with you guys." She told him miserably. "I'm must so pathetic."

"….." Gaara hummed as he leaned against the railing still looking at her. He didn't agree with her at all. He felt as if she had gotten a little stronger since the mission in the Land of Waves. He didn't want to think that she was weak. He couldn't see her weak. Not at all. "If I didn't know better," He began, carefully. "I distinctively remember you were the first one up the tree." Sakura blinked in surprise as she looked at him. Her bright emerald green eyes looked right into his teal colored ones. "Sakura, you might not be the strongest out of Team 7, but you are the brightest and the most analogical. Without you in the team, we'd all just be dogs running around in circles. Even Kakashi-sensei. If you had not helped Tsunami nurse him back to health, he'd probably would have died from overuse of his Chakra." He shook his head. "Believe it or not, but you have gotten stronger."

Sakura continued to stare at him with surprise but then her face softened as she realized he was trying to cheer her up. And truth be told, it worked. She gave him a soft smile as she turned to face him. "Thanks, Gaara. I really needed to hear that. Do you really mean it?" She asked and received a nod from the other Genin. "Thanks then."

"….." Gaara looked away thoughtfully. His thoughts were settled on the Sand Ninja again. He wondered if Sakura knew about them, or if she would tell him. "Sakura, about those Sand Ninja. What were they like? What did they look like?"

Sakura rose an eyebrow at him as she placed her hand onto her waist. "Gaara, don't tell me you're going to still go pick a fight with them, are you?" She asked.

Gaara just shook his head as he turned back to her, folding his arms and tilting his head to the side. "No. I'm just curious. I want to see them, that's all." He told her, honestly. It was true. He did want to see them. He wanted to find out more about them. He wasn't sure but he had a feeling that there was a connection with him and the Sand Ninja. He just wanted to know.

Sakura just sighed and shook her head as she leaned against the bridge's railing. "All right. But if you get into trouble, don't expect me to say I told you so." She shrugged as she tried to remember. "Okay, the guy, Kankuro. I think that was his name. He was a little older than we are. I think he might be 16 years old. He was kind of tall and creepy. He wore all black and he had purple paint all over his face. Purple lines around his eyes and on his nose. He was even wearing it on his lips." She made a face at that thought and that made Gaara smirk. "I don't know. He was kind of arrogant and was talking down to us as if he was something special. He was also carrying this large thing on his back but I have no idea what it was. He was going to use it against Sasuke but then some girl standing off to the side told him off for it. She said that he was to use it during the Chuunin exams only."

"What about her? Was she picking on Naruto?" Gaara asked seriously. "Tell me about her too."

Sakura nodded with a shrug. "Her name was Temari, I think. She had blonde hair that was pulled back in four different ponytails. She was wearing deep bluish purple clothing with such a short skirt. She…she really wasn't picking on Naruto. She was actually just standing back and watching. She didn't really do anything to stop Kankuro until he pulled out that weird thing he kept on his back." She told Gaara. "Plus I think she also told him off because that was when some weird guy wearing all black showed up. I didn't get to see what he looked like because he was wearing a mask over his face. He only had one eye showing through one eye bole on it. I didn't really get his name. But he was almost as cheerful as Naruto is and super klutzy. He tripped on his own feet. But either way, Kankuro and Temari were kind of nervous around him. I think he was the leader of the three."

Gaara just frowned as he took in all of the information. But then he nodded with somewhat grateful look at Sakura. "Well, if these Sand Ninja think they are good with Sand techniques or anything, wait till they see me. I'm the Master of Sand." He remarked, with little humor.

Sakura smiled with a little giggle and she nodded. She definitely agreed with him as she folded her arms. "You're right. You are the Prince of Sand." She received a surprised look from Gaara. But with only a wave at him, she started to walk home. "Thanks, Gaara. I'll see you tomorrow." She told him before walking away. Gaara just watched her got before his face softened, making him almost smile. He felt a little proud of himself for cheering Sakura up. He just hoped that she would stay that way. Then he frowned, his eyes narrowing as he looked away.

"Now for this Kankuro…..."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, after the sun had gone down, Gaara was sitting on top of the Ninja Academy, looking around with one eye closed. He also had a hand sign right in front of him. There was a reason why he was sitting like that. Not long ago, he had developed this new technique that he could use to spy or look out for something for him and the team. It had been Shukaku who helped him develop it. Using his sand, he was able to create an optic visual eye, a third eye, which was connected with his own. He could send this eye out anywhere and take a look around for anything. It would be like he was in one place and be in another at the same time.

Right now, he had sent his optic sand eye out to find this "Kankuro." And soon enough, he spotted someone who somewhat matched the description that Sakura had given him.  
So Gaara pulled back his sand eye and went to look for this man where the sand eye had pin pointed it. He found the Sand Ninja sitting at a fountain near the Inn, meddling with something in his lap. He couldn't see what it was, nor did he care. His attention was on the Sand Ninja only. He couldn't see this young man's face because of the black hood but he was wearing all black just like Sakura said.

The thing that caught Gaara's attention was the strange cocoon like wraps right next to the Sand Ninja.

Even if it was pretty dark and hard to see, there was a face with a mop of dark brown hair on its head within it. It was staring straight at Gaara as he walked towards the Sand Ninja. It made the young Genin freeze in the shadows before he realized that it wasn't even real. It was a puppet.

'Hmm. Ain't he a little too old to be playing with dolls?' Shukaku stirred within with dark amusement.

Gaara smirked to himself as he eyed the puppet for a minute before he folded his arms, looking serious again. He was going to confront this Sand Ninja, maybe scare him a little about what he did to Konohamaru and Naruto. It usually worked with the other brats around there.

"Are you Kankuro?" Gaara asked quietly.

The Sand Ninja's head gave a light jerk upward as soon as Gaara spoke up, his hand already grabbing at a kunai next to him. But seeing that it was someone much shorter than he him, he relaxed. He couldn't see the boy too well because he was shrouded in darkness but he could tell it was just a kid.

And Gaara could now see his face because of the street lamp on the Inn. He could see that Sakura had not exaggerated about the paint at all. The Sand Ninja's face was tanned darkly from being out in the sun but he also had purple lines all over his face. It did look a little creepy but Gaara had seen scarier. Himself, for one.

"Yeah. I'm Kankuro. What's it to ya, kid?" The Sand Ninja said darkly as he eyed Gaara.

Gaara's face darkened a little as he folded his arms across his chest and he stepped a little closer but not close enough to let the Sand Ninja see his face. But he wasn't really looking at him anymore. Instead he was looking down at what he had in his lap. "Kankuro, I've come to warn you. If you ever mess with my friends again, especially that blonde from yesterday, Naruto, I will make you very sorry." He warned darkly.

"Pfftt!" Kankuro snorted before he put down the object he was messing with. It was to, Gaara's surprise, a wooden arm. Probably from his puppet. Then he stood up, showing Gaara that he was much taller than him by a foot. He hadn't looked at him just yet and that gave Gaara the time to move forward so he could see his intimidating look. And when Kankuro looked at him, he did freeze. He stepped back with a look of shock and disbelief. It was as if he knew Gaara from somewhere but he wasn't sure where. His shocked look slowly melted into a look of confusion as he stared at Gaara, who kept his intimidating look on his face. But then he tilted his head away, still staring at the shorter Genin. "…" He hummed before shaking his head as if he decided that he didn't know the kid. "So, are you threatening me, brat? 'Cause if you are, I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."

Gaara narrowed his eyes at him as he moved forward, summoning his sand right from his gourd to swirl around him. "You're going to teach me a lesson?" He asked darkly. "You're going to sick your doll on me? Believe me, girly boy, it's going to take a lot more than some doll to beat me."

"Why you little…..!" Kankuro yelled angrily now moving forward in a threatening manner.

"Kankuro!" Snapped a womanish voice as someone was walking towards them. "You know you're not allowed to fight anyone until the Chuunin exams!"

Gaara and Kankuro turned around to see a very pretty blonde walking towards them. She was older than both of them. She must have been at least 17 years old. It was no doubt the girl, Temari that Sakura told Gaara about. She matched the description very well. Except she never told him what color Temari's eyes had been. They were a deep shade of green that made Gaara freeze. They looked so familiar.

The girl, Temari didn't even spare Gaara a glance but glared at Kankuro as she approached them. She did not look happy that he was trying to fight someone. But then she looked at him. She stared at him for a minute before she halted in her footsteps. She was staring at Gaara with the very same look that Kankuro had been giving him a moment ago. She had a look of recognition in her eyes as she looked him over. Her eyes looked at his red hair then at his teal colored eyes. Then she looked at the sand swirling around him. After a moment, she stepped back, looking as if someone had just punched her in the stomach and all of the air had been knocked out of her lungs.

"…..Ga…Gaara?" She asked weakly as tears filled her eyes.

That surprised both Gaara and Kankuro. Both of them stepped back, eyes wide as they looked at the blonde girl. Gaara didn't understand it. How did this girl know him? He had never seen her before, much less even met her. He saw Kankuro looked more shocked that he did as he looked quickly between Temari and Gaara. But he paid no mind to him. He just called back his sand into his gourd and turned towards her, dropping his arms.

"How do you know my name?"

The young woman drew back with surprise while Kankuro stepped back again, only to fall right into the fountain. His hand was the only thing that went into the water before he caught himself. He looked wide eyed at Temari, whose eyes were full of tears as she slapped a hand over her mouth. "Temari! Are you serious?!" He exclaimed. "Tell me that this is a joke?! Is this really…..! You told me that he was dead! You told me that he drowned in the river! You lied to me! Why did….?!" He couldn't finish his words.

Gaara just stared at the two with surprise. He didn't understand at all. What was they talking about? The river? Did he mean the river that Jiraiya had found him at? But….did these two know who he really was?!

"I….I…." Temari said uneasily as she dropped her hand, blinking back the tears. Her eyes shot over to her younger brother. "Kankuro! This is not the time to talk about this…..right now….if HE sees him here…."

Gaara was now frowning. He was getting tired of this now. He wanted to know what this girl was talking about and how she knew about him right now. "Enough!" He said darkly. "Who are you and how do you know my name?!" He demanded.

The two Sand Ninja looked wide eyed at him as they stood up straighter and then looked at each other. Though the younger was glaring at the other. He was furious with Temari for something. Temari just shook her head as she looked shakily at Gaara. "We are….we are Sunagakure, the Hidden Village in the Sand, in the Land of Wind." She tried to begin. "My name is Temari. And this is my younger brother, Kankuro. We were the children of the Kazekage…..before he…..um, we are just Sand Ninja. We've come to compete in the….."  
"Oh tell him the truth, Temari!" Kankuro said angrily.

Temari frowned at him, her eyes glaring right back at her brother for snapping at her. She just shook her head. "Kankuro, Deidara is coming outside in a minute! If he sees him, this Leaf Shinobi, we are going to get into trouble! I will talk to you later!" She then looked at Gaara, who was looking foul. "Gaara, I can't tell you anything. Not right now. It's too dangerous and I swear if we get the chance I will tell you the truth. When I know it's safe….." She was trying to say.

Gaara shook his head as he glared at her. He wanted the answers now. He wanted to know what she was talking about and how she knew him. "No. You will tell me…"  
"Hmm? What is this?" came a mildly cheerful voice.

Temari squeaked and grew very pale as soon as she heard that voice. But she quickly dropped her fear and grew very serious as she turned around to see who was approaching them. There were two of them. Both of them were wearing black but one of them had robes over his black clothes. A black robe with red swirls. The Ninja had long blonde hair and deep blue eyes. His blonde hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail on top of his head. The other one was a young man, or at least that's what he looked like. He was about as tall as Kankuro and he wore a mask over his face.

"Deidara-senpai." Temari said, now very cold and serious like as she bowed down to the Ninja. "Forgive me for taking so long on finding Kankuro. He's been here all along, working on Crow." She turned a scowling look on Kankuro, glanced over at Gaara nervously before he straightened.

The blonde Ninja was eyeing Gaara interestedly, trying to figure something out. His eyes were taking in the Genin's appearance, looking very interested. The other was also eyeing him but he Gaara couldn't even see his eyes. There was only one eyehole and it was too dark to see his one eye. But he seemed just as interested as the blonde.

"Who is this? What's your name? Why do you look so familiar?" The blonde Ninja asked lightly. He sounded so friendly but there was something that was bothering Gaara about him. Gaara just frowned at him before he saw the panicked looks in Temari and Kankuro's eyes as they looked at him with worry. "My name? It's….."

"Naruto!" Kankuro burst out before Gaara could say anything. He then gave the red head a bored look. "His name is Naruto. He's kind of a big loser." He said dryly.

Gaara turned around and frowned at him with confusion. "What?" He asked now angry and confused. "My name is….."

"Ah. There you are, Naruto. I've been looking all over for you." Came Kakashi's voice.

Gaara blinked in surprise before turning around with the Sand Ninja to see him walking out of the shadows. The silver-white haired Jounin was reading his orange book as he walked towards them. But then he closed it and put it away, meeting the blonde's eyes, who stepped back in surprise. By the looks on the blonde Sand Ninja's face, he knew who Kakashi was. But it was the masked ninja who spoke. "Oh dear." He muttered.

"Naruto," Kakashi said looking directly at Gaara, giving him a look as if to dare him to give out his real name. "You need to get home and get some rest. Not staying up so late and making new friends. Do that tomorrow at the Chuunin exams. But right now, it's late and you need to get home." He told him as he placed his hand on the Genin's shoulder and started to pull him after him.

"Naruto….." The blonde Ninja said as he tilted his head to the side. "I was aware that he was a dumb blonde, not a carrot top."

Temari and Kankuro froze with panic, the masked Ninja glancing at them before looking back at the Leaf Shinobi. Gaara turned sharply to glare at the Ninja who said that. He did not want this foreigner to be talking about Naruto like that. But Kakashi tightened his hold on his shoulder to shut him up as he slowly turned to look directly at the blonde Ninja. "Well, he's not. And this is my student, Naruto. And right now, he needs his rest for the Chuunin exams." He told the Ninja seriously. Then he turned to leave with Gaara, now forcing him to turn away.

"You know, it's funny." The masked Ninja spoke up finally with a cheerful tone to his voice. "It's funny how this brat looks so much like the former Kazekage. And I heard that he lost his youngest son nearly 13 years ago. Could it be that this boy is him?"

Gaara's eyes widened as he tried to turn around to look at the masked Ninja but Kakashi kept a firm grip on his shoulder to keep his back facing the Ninja. He turned around, giving the Sand Ninja a dry stare. "No. This boy has been in the Leaf Village his entire life. And if I see you near my student again, I swear you will not like what I'll have to say about it." He said being very serious. Then he walked off, pulling Gaara after him.

After a long silence of walking down the darkened road, Gaara looked up at Kakashi, frowning. "Kakashi, what is going…" He was asking.

But Kakashi shook his head as he kept a firm grip on the Genin's shoulder. "I told you not to go near the Sand Ninja, Gaara. I told you that it was better if you didn't go near them. The Hokage does not want you to. There's something that he doesn't like about them right now. Especially that one in the black and red." He told him.

"Is he one of the people that killed my mother?" Gaara asked seriously.

Kakashi was quiet for a minute before shaking his head as he turned towards Gaara. He looked him right in the eye as they kept walking. "I don't know, Gaara. But we can't make any accusations right now. Not until Jiraiya gets back from where ever he's at. The Hokage has people looking for him right now. Ever since the Sand Ninja showed up, he's been suspicious of them." He told him.

Gaara just tilted his head as he folded his arms. "Those Sand Ninja seemed to know me. Who were they?"

"….." Kakashi looked away thoughtfully. "I have no idea. But I'm trying to find out. For now, don't go near them or that ninja in black and red. Those two young Genin were afraid for you because of that one. So he's obviously bad news. I'll find out who he is and who his those three Genin are. But for now, just go home and get ready for tomorrow." He told him. 

Gaara just nodded as he started on his way home. He really wanted to talk to Temari and Kankuro again. To find out what they knew. He needed to find out what they knew about him. And it was only a matter of time when he would talk to them.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

The day of the exams finally arrived and Gaara had left his apartment early as ever, making his way towards the Ninja Academy. He had a lot of things going through his mind at the moment. He knew this was going to be a very big day for most of the Genin who was trying for Chuunin. He wondered exactly what was in store for all of them.

As Gaara waited, he was soon joined by Sakura and Sasuke. He knew that Naruto was going to be the last one to arrive. He was always the last, out of the four Genin. He couldn't help but glance at Sakura though. She didn't look as miserable as she did the day before but, she didn't look excited either. She was probably only there because of what he had said to her the day before. And that must have been so because she met his eyes and then smiled faintly at him. Gaara's eyes softened but he didn't return the smile. He just dipped his head a little to her before looking over when he heard someone running up to them.

"Hey! Gaara! Sakura!" Naruto bellowed as he waved excitedly at them.

Gaara just nodded at Naruto as he rushed up to them while Sakura tried to smile at the blonde. She was doing a poor job of doing it though. Gaara wasn't the only one who noticed though. Sasuke was watching her too. He only frowned as he tilted his head. He had a questioning look on his face, that Gaara knew that he was trying figure out what was with the pink haired girl.

"Yeah. Good morning." Sakura muttered. Then she sweat dropped when Naruto started asking her about how to fill out the application. Gaara just smirked to himself and shook his head.

"So! You're going to enter the Chuunin exams too, huh, Gaara?!" Naruto asked excitedly. "Right on! This is going to be so much fun! I can't wait till we all pass! We're gonna become Chuunin together and we're gonna totally rock the exams!" He then threw his arms around both of Gaara and Sasuke's necks and started to drag them a little. "Come on! Come on! We should get going!"

Sasuke just grumbled as he tried to shove Naruto's arm off of his shoulder. But Gaara had glanced over his shoulder to see the look on Sakura's face as she followed after them. She still looked a little depressed about the whole ordeal.

Until a long string of sand swirled around her waist and like an arm, it pulled her after the boys.

Sakura squeaked in surprise as she looked down and saw Gaara's sand wrapped around her waist, pulling her forward until she was walking right next to him. She looked at the red head with surprise, who casually looked back at her. She blinked when she saw how soft his eyes were, only then did she smile and grabbed his arm, linking it with hers. That surprised Gaara but he didn't pull his arm away from her, but allowed her to hold onto his arm as they walked together. But at least, she was smiling this time.

As Team 7 walked through the halls of the Ninja Academy, they heard some kind of fight on the second floor. There was a large crowd of young Shinobi near a door, which Gaara immediately sensed a Genjutsu on it. There were two older Shinobi blocking the door, which was marked 301and it seemed like they were picking a fight with someone.

It was with a very unusual Shinobi dressed all in green, who was sitting on the floor, rubbing his bleeding lip. He was quite the unusual fellow and Gaara was pretty sure he had seen him once or twice before. His outfit seemed to be a one piece but he wasn't entirely sure. He had black hair which was cut in a bowl cut style and very thick eyebrows over his unusually round eyes. One his legs, he was wearing orange leg warmers and his hands there were bandages. His forehead protector was around his waist, serving as a belt. Though he appeared to be weak, Gaara immediately could tell that he was not. There was just this strong look in his eyes.

"Hah! You plan to take the Chuunin exam with that?! You should quit now!" huffed one of the older Shinobi. "You're just a little kid."

The other nodded in agreement, a cruel look in his eyes. This Shinobi, however, looked awfully familiar to Gaara. He remembered him from his younger days. He had been one of the boys who hung around the bully, Miso, when he was very young. So obviously, he still liked to pick on little kids. "Yeah, yeah." the bully said.

One of the young Shinobi, a girl wearing a pink top and black pants moved forward, frowning at the two older Shinobi. She was a pretty thing, black hair pulled up into two buns and her forehead protector was tied around her forehead. "Please. Let us through." She told the two Shinobi as she walked towards them. One of the two just snorted before he lashed out quickly and backhanded her hard across the face. He and his friend just laughed as she stumbled backwards, almost falling onto her back. She would have hit the ground if someone had not caught her.

Actually, something.

After not hitting the ground, the girl sat up on whatever it was she was sitting against and found that there was a large sand made hand holding her up. That made everyone else freeze with surprise before they followed the trail of sand, and their eyes landed on a very annoyed looking Gaara. His arms were folded across his chest as he glared at the two bullies, while Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were standing right next to him, looking almost as aggravated as he did.

"You must feel pretty big to hitting a girl, bakamono." The red haired Genin said darkly as he set the girl onto her feet.

The two older Shinobi backed up a step while glaring at Gaara. They knew who he was. The second Shinobi, looked more alarmed to see him though. He hadn't seen him for a while and had not expected someone like him to even be Shinobi. Not with his freakish power. "What did you say?" The spiky haired Shinobi asked before lifting his head higher. "Listen, punk. This is our kindness. The Chuunin exam isn't easy. Even we have failed it 3 straight times. Those that take this exam and end up quitting as Shinobi, those that die during the exam, we've seen it all." He said giving Gaara a distasteful look. "And Chuunin often become captains of military teams. The failure of a mission. The death of a comrade. That is all the captain's responsibility. Yet, kids like you think you can pass?" He snorted. "We are just thinning out those that will fail anyway. What's wrong with that?"

"I agree but….." Sasuke said as he moved forward, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "You will let me pass though. And also, remove this surrounding created with Genjutsu. I'm going to the 3rd floor."

There were a few murmurs as the other Genin looked at one another with confusion. They weren't sure what he was talking about. But the two Shinobi both smirked as if they were only a little impressed. They both were grinning at Sasuke, who smirked right back. "Ah. So you noticed." The familiar bully said.

Gaara nodded in agreement as he continued to glare at the bully. "It was Sakura who noticed it first." He said dryly. Beside him, Sakura blinked in surprise, looking at him with wide eyes. Sasuke just nodded still smirking at the two bullies. "Sakura's analytical ability and Genjutsu Know-how is the most improved on our team." He announced, glancing over at her. Sakura looked at both Gaara and Sasuke, who gave her a nod before looking back at the bullies. The pink haired girl's face softened thankfully before she looked at the two Shinobi with a determined smile. "Of course. I noticed a while ago. Because this is the second floor." She said boldly.

"Yup!" Naruto said brightly. "I noticed it too!" When in fact he hadn't. The others didn't say anything though. They just continued to stared down the bullies.

The spiky haired bully just grinned as he let go of the Genjutsu and shook his head as he looked Gaara over. "Hmm, not bad. But all you did was see through it." He paused. "I've heard about you." His eyes flickered to his pal, who was eyeing Gaara a little uneasily. "You're that ugly, little red head that didn't get along with my friend here."

Now all humor was off the Team 7's faces. All four were glaring at him, though Gaara looked like he was about to murder this kid. Naruto almost jumped forward to start something but the red head reached and caught him by his shoulder. Sasuke, on the other hand, dipped his head lower, giving the spiky haired Shinobi a very dark look. "If you're smart, which I doubt you are, you won't insult Gaara. He can take you on anytime, anywhere." He said acidly.

"Yeah? But can you?" The spiky haired Shinobi said before lashing out a foot, almost too quickly that it was a blur. Sasuke immediately became alert and lashed out his own foot, while the other three stepped back quickly to let him deal with this jerk.

But before Sasuke or the bully could connect, the bowl cut Shinobi in green was right in between them, catching both of their legs.

It surprised everyone, even Gaara. No one had even seen him move, more than less had even caught Sasuke's kick. Hardly anyone could do that. Gaara knew exactly how fast Sasuke's kick was and it was wicked fast. It was even almost hard for him to keep up if it weren't for his sand shielding them. So obviously this bowl cut Shinobi was faster than he looked. Even though before, he had just been getting knocked around by these bullies. After a moment, he let go of their legs, letting them drop them to the floor.

"Haa." The bowl cut sighed as he dropped his arms, then glanced at the ninja who stepped up next to him with the girl that Gaara had caught with his sand. It was a young man with long black hair and his forehead protector tied around his forehead, though it looked more like a bandana. "Hey." He spoke in a dry tone. "What happened to the plan? You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves."

The bowl cut Shinobi just shrugged as he glanced over at Team 7. "Well…." But he cut himself off when his eyes landed on Sakura. Then his eyes grew very bright and he started smiling. Behind him, the girl on his team sighed and shook her head. The long haired boy just sweat dropped. However, Gaara began glaring. He did not like that look on the bowl cut's face. He was looking at Sakura with interest, as if he knew her. Then to his disgust, he began striding towards them, his eyes only on Sakura. The red head grew tense and his sand began to swirl in his gourd, threateningly.

"Hi." The bowl cut said, smiling right at Sakura, not even noticing the glares he was getting Gaara. "My name is Rock Lee. So yours is Sakura." He said confidently. Sakura just tilted her head, her eyebrow raising before she nodding. Grinning, Rock Lee gave her a smile, which actually did sparkle and a thumbs up. "Let's go out together! I'll protect you till I die!" He said brightly.

Gaara almost lost his temper right there. His eyes darkened as he glared harshly at this bowl cut Shinobi. He had the sudden urge to just crush this freak with his sand.

"Yes! Do it! Do it! I want his blood!" Shukaku roared with delight.

Gaara almost felt like giving in but chose to shove the sand demon back in the depths of his mind. Especially when Sakura made a very disgusted look as she looked right at Rock Lee. "No…..way….you're lame." She remarked dryly. Rock Lee slumped over with defeat as he gave her a puppy eyed look, though it didn't look so good with those weird worm shaped eyebrows of his. His head came up a little when Gaara stepped in between him and Sakura, his arms folded over his chest and he gave him a very dark look. His eyes only brightened when he recognized the challenge this red head was giving him.

"Hey, you." The long haired Shinobi spoke up. Gaara turned his eyes away from Rock Lee, looking right at the long haired Shinobi. However, the Shinobi's eyes weren't on him. They were on Sasuke, and that just made the red head roll his eyes. Especially on Naruto's reaction. He looked extremely angrily that someone was interested in finding out Sasuke's name.

Sasuke just smirked as he turned to face the long haired Shinobi. "When you want to learn someone's name, you should give yours first." He challenged.

The long haired Shinobi smirked at the challenge before tilting his head to the side. "You're a rookie, right? How old are you?" He asked. Again Sasuke smirked and shook his head. "How old are you?"

"Hmm." The long haired Shinobi hummed with amusement before he looked over at Gaara next. "How about you? What's your name?"

Gaara just tightened his arms over his chest and dipped his head down a little lower as he looked darkly in the long haired Shinobi's strange pure white eyes. "You want to know my name? Ask one of them." He said nodding towards the crowd of watching Genin.

Then with a grin, the long haired Shinobi, Sasuke and Gaara turned completely around, walking away from each other. Naruto just sat on the ground pouting about how he was being left out. However no one really paid much attention to him until Sakura grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara! Let's go!" She said brightly before pulling both Sasuke and Naruto. She trusted Gaara to follow after him, though she did glance over her shoulder to make sure. Gaara just shrugged and followed after them anyway.

Not too far away as they walked down an empty corridor, Gaara suddenly had the distinct feeling that someone was following them. He really didn't have to turn around to find out though. He could feel the weirdo's Chakra and smell him, due to the enhanced senses that came along with Shukaku. The bowl cut Shinobi, Rock Lee was following them along the upper balcony before he decided to say anything.

"Hey! Guy with the dark eyes." He finally called.

Gaara was already looking up at him, his teeth nearly grinding together and his arms just nearly pasted to his chest as he glared up at him. The other three just looked up with surprise before Sakura made a face when she saw him again. Sasuke just looked dryly up at the bowl cut Shinobi. "What is it?" He asked, uninterested. Rock Lee just gave him a very challenging look as he looked down directly at Sasuke. "You will….fight me right here?" He said in more of a question. Naruto and Sakura looked more surprised while Sasuke just tilted his head, looking dryly at Rock Lee. "A fight right now?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes." Rock Lee said before he jumped right over the balcony wall and dropped down right in front of them, blocking their path. His eyes were securely on Sasuke, though they flickered over to Gaara next. There was also a challenge in them. So that meant he wanted to fight him too. But his eyes looked right back Sasuke. "My name is Rock Lee." He then pointed at the raven haired Shinobi. "When you want to learn a person's name you introduce yourself first, right?"

Smirking, Sasuke nodded, though his head dipped lower. "Sasuke Uchiha. Heh, so you know?" He asked.

Rock Lee only nodded before he glanced over to Gaara, pointing at him next. "And you? I would like to know your name as well."

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all glanced over at Gaara as he gave Rock Lee a rather unpleasant look. He didn't seem like he was going to answer the question but then he lift his head higher with a hint of a smirk on his face. "Gaara, of the Sand." He finally answered.

Rock Lee only nodded before snapping into a fighting stance. He was obviously really wanting to do this. "I want to fight you. I want to test my techniques against the offspring of the Genius Ninja Clan. Plus" He said, his eyes now back on Sasuke. But then his eyes flickered over to Sakura. It did not go un-noticed at all. Gaara tilted his head to glance over at Sakura, who was very aware that he was looking at her. Again, Gaara began glaring heatedly at Rock Lee, who didn't look at him. Instead, he winked at her. Sakura yelped in disgust as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "EWWW! Those lower eyelashes are ewww!" she squealed. "The hairstyle is lame and those thick eyebrows….." She ended by shuddering.

Rock Lee didn't seem to notice though. He just reached up to his mouth and blew her a kiss. "Mua! You are an angel!"

Sakura screeched as she fell backwards to avoid the invisible kiss being blown at her, only to hit her head hard against the ground. She yelped in pain but stood up, shaking a fist at Rock Lee while Naruto was growling in rage about this weirdo challenging Sasuke. "Hey! Don't be blowing me any kisses, you weirdo! I nearly escaped with my life!" The pink haired Kunoichi screamed at him.

Again Rock Lee just pouted as he looked rather hurt that she was blowing him off yet again. "Aww. Don't be like that." He begged.

Sasuke rolled his eyes before tilting his head. He decided to interrupt. "Challenging me knowing the Uchiha name…frankly you're a fool." He stated but looked seriously at the bowl cut Shinobi. "You're about to learn….what this name means, bushy brows."

This brought a grin back onto Rock Lee's face again before he folded an arm behind his back and held up a hand towards Sasuke, almost beckoning him forward, challenging him. "Please." He told him.

"Wait." Naruto spoke up, making all eyes turn onto him. "I'll take care of thick eyebrows. Just give me five minutes." He said looking very agitated. Rock Lee just gave him a dry look. He was obviously not interested into fighting Naruto. "Who I wish to fight is not you. It's Uchiha." He remarked. Naruto growled as he bolted forward. "Damn it! I'm sick of hearing about Sasuke!" He yelled as he moved forward with a fist balled up.

Gaara would have stopped him but he decided not to. He knew this wasn't his fight and it was obvious that Naruto needed a lesson to be taught to him. He was being a real idiot right now. So he just went over to the wall and leaned against it with his eyes closed. He decided that this wasn't even worth watching. He gritted his teeth tightly when he heard Naruto yelling with rage and heard a whoosh. Obviously Rock Lee was just avoiding Naruto's attacks now.

"Leaf Violent Wind!" Rock Lee muttered before there was the sound of his foot connecting with Naruto's head and then a crash.

It took a lot of will power for Gaara not to react. He gritted his teeth tightly while keeping his eyes closed. He really did want to teach this bowl cut a lesson for hurting his best friend, but he also knew that Naruto had it coming. It was Sasuke that Rock Lee wanted to fight, not him. So he wouldn't do anything. Instead, Gaara began to concentrate on meditating. He need to think about the Chuunin exams and he had no interest in watching the fight between Sasuke and Rock Lee. He blocked out the sounds of the fight to think to himself. It was only when Sakura gasped and yelled out Sasuke's name did he decide to open his eyes again.

To Gaara's surprise, Sasuke was on the ground with a bleeding lip. He was up on his feet immediately smirking. But his eyes had changed. Gaara frowned when he saw that Sasuke had activated his Sharingan eyes. That wasn't good. He immediately felt the sting in his head and he winced as he found himself unable to turn his eyes away from Sasuke's eyes. His teeth gritted tightly as he tried to tear his eyes away but couldn't. Shukaku wasn't making things any easier either. There was a storm going on his head, making him wince and reach up to touch his temple. 'Not good.' He thought to himself as he continued to try and tear his eyes away from the fight. And worst, no one seemed to even notice.

Almost no one actually.

Rock Lee seemed to have, or else he wouldn't have leapt forward and kicked Sasuke right up in the face, sending his head upward so that Gaara couldn't see his eyes. But then again, it could have been coincidence. Gaara immediately shut his eyes and tried very hard to concentrate to calm himself down and Shukaku, which was quite the effort. He heard the fight growing very intense. He now wanted to watch it but it wasn't worth looking into the Sharingan. He just couldn't understand it. Why in the world did this always happen when he saw those blood red eyes?

"Huh?!" Rock Lee suddenly exclaimed. "That is…..!"

Gaara suddenly felt the new presence as well. But he still didn't want to look into Sasuke's Sharingan eye. He didn't want to take that risk of losing control of Shukaku.

"That's enough Lee!" an unfamiliar voice yelled out.

Now Gaara chose to open his eyes. He frowned when he looked around, spotting Sasuke falling from the air while Rock Lee was spinning to land on his feet. One of his bandages seemed to have come undone and was pinned to the wall by a small pinwheel senbon. And then his teal colored eyes fell onto a giant tortoise. That really made him frown. "What the…." He murmured in bewilderment. 'Where did that come from?' He thought.

"Lee! That technique is forbidden!" The tortoise suddenly spoke, startling all of Team 7. They hadn't expected the thing to actually talk.

Rock Lee landed on his feet while bowing before it. "I'm sorry…." He apologized to the shelled animal. "I just….." He cut himself off when the animal began glaring at him. He flinched away from the tortoise. "But….I wasn't planning using the other one….!" He quickly explained to get out of trouble with the tortoise.

That just made the four team members of Team 7 frown as they just stared at the bowl cut Shinobi and the tortoise. They were all finding this rather odd. Rock Lee was in trouble with an animal. How odd. It was like…..it was like the tortoise was actually his sensei or something. Frowning, Gaara moved over to where Sasuke and Sakura was standing when Naruto did. "Hey, hey." The blonde spoke up, making all of them look at him.

"What?" Sakura asked, frowning at him.

Naruto just looked clueless as ever as he pointed over at the tortoise. "That's a turtle, right? Right?" He asked frowning. Both Sakura and Gaara gave him a raised eyebrow look as if he said the stupidest thing ever but then the pink haired girl nodded. "Isn't that obvious?" She asked dryly.

"Hey, hey! Can a turtle even become a Ninja sensei?" Naruto asked.

Gaara glanced over at the turtle again before looking away. He wasn't even sure if an animal could be a sensei. He had never heard of it happening before. How could all of the Taijutsu moves that Rock Lee have learned came from a turtle? He was pretty sure it hadn't happened. Something else must be responsible for his training.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of smoke right above the tortoise making everyone jump and turn around to see a tall man in the spitting image of Rock Lee, only wearing blue instead of green. He was posed in a ridiculous pose, as if he was trying out for a fashion show. Gaara immediately felt a sweat drop starting to roll down from his hair line as he eyed this man dryly. "Geeze! You guys are the epitome of adolescence! The man said cheerfully.

All four Genin of Team 7 looked at him with horror. It was very un-Gaara like for the red head but he couldn't help as he gave the older looking bowl cut Shinobi a very alarmed look.

"Ack! EWWWWW!" Sakura bellowed. "He's got even thicker eyebrows!"

"Super thick….." Sasuke murmured, which was surprising.

"Super faggy….those are incredible eyebrows…..I've never seen that before." Naruto remarked.

Gaara just stepped back uneasily as he stared at the strange Jounin standing on top of the tortoise. He even felt Shukaku groaning in his head with uneasy. "Geeze, the freak show never ends." He grumbled as he folded his arms.

"HEY! STOP INSULTING GAI-SENSEI!" Rock Lee yelled as he shook a fist towards them.

Naruto glared right back as he balled up fists. "Shut up! All these freaks keep appearing! How the hell are we suppose to react!" He yelled right back. Rock Lee only looked even more outraged. "What did you….."

"Lee!" the older bowl cut Shinobi barked.

Rock Lee blinked out of his thoughts before spinning around. "Oh! Yes…." He never got to finish his sentence because the older bowl cut Shinobi slammed his fist into the boy's cheek, sending him flying to the ground. Alarmed, all of Team 7 stared at him with wide eyes. Even Gaara was somewhat alarmed. His arms came loose from his chest and he looked right at Rock Lee on the ground before his sensei.

There was a short pause before the man sighed and bent down to one knee before the boy. "Are you…Are you…." He tried to ask softly. Now there were tears spilling down his cheeks as he looked right his student.

Rock Lee was crying as well. He sniffed a few times as he sat up. "Sensei…I…I…." He was trying to say.

With another sigh, the Shinobi shook his head as he held out his arms. "That's enough, Lee. You don't need to say it." He told him. And Rock Lee leapt up and met his sensei's embrace. Both of them just held onto one another while crying together.

Extremely freaked out all of Team 7 stared at the pair with odd looks. Gaara just sweat dropped before deciding to close his eyes and turn slightly away. He felt like he was going to be sick in a way. This was something he was not used to seeing at all. There had been times that he hugged Jiraiya when he was a child but these two…..all he wanted to say was "Ewww." Unfortunately that was too un-Gaara like so he just thought it while Shukaku began to bellow with laughter inside his head.

"Hey! That's pretty good stuff! I want a hug too!" Naruto said cheerfully, obviously talking to Sakura. And picturing the look on Sakura's face, Gaara smirked to himself as he kept his eyes closed.

"Don't even think about it, Naruto!" Sakura snapped at the blonde.

There were some words exchanged between Rock Lee and his sensei while Gaara kept his back to the two. He really did not want to look at these weird pair. "Hey, you guys," The Jounin suddenly started speaking to them. "How's Kakashi doing?"

That made Gaara open his eyes and tilt his head to the left to glance over his shoulder at the bowl cut Shinobi with interest. He hadn't been expecting this man to know Kakashi. But then again, they were both Jounin, and they seemed to be the same age. Though this man was slightly older than Kakashi, probably by a few years.

"You know Kakashi?" Sasuke asked his hands stuffed into his pockets now.

The bowl cut Shinobi chuckled as he rubbed his chin, his eyes closed as he looked rather thoughtful. "Know him?" He asked, before he suddenly vanished, making all four tense up when he appeared right behind them, though now he was standing right next to Gaara. The bowl cut Jounin didn't seem to have noticed him though. "People refer us as "Eternal Rivals." The man finished. "50 wins, 49 losses. I'm stronger than Kakashi."

That just made all four jerk around and look at him with alarm. Gaara, however, just gave him a dry look. He didn't like the fact that this guy was too close to him now. He turned slightly to face the man and back up, not wanting to turn his back on this guy. He was just feeling too uneasy.

"See?! Gai-sensei is incredible!" Rock Lee said cheerfully.

The Jounin, Gai, just nodded as he grinned down at Sasuke, since it mostly been him who asked the question. "Sorry about Lee. I swear to this face it won't happen again." He told him. That just weirded Gaara out even more. He couldn't help it anymore. He just had to get away from this weird Shinobi. So he rose a hand to use his sand teleportation jutsu to move somewhere else or out of sight. However, his actions didn't go un-noticed. He grew very stiff when Gai tilted his head a little to look at him when he rose his hand. He did not want those huge eyebrow covered eyes looking at him!

"Huh?!" Gai said, now looking very surprised to see Gaara for the first time. He turned completely to face the red head now, how grew very pale and shrank back a little. His team mates frowned in confusion when they saw his reaction. They couldn't blame him too much. But the reaction that Gai had next completely stunned every single Genin. Including Rock Lee.

"Gaara! Wow! My, my! You've grown so big! Last time I saw you, you were only this big!" Gai said brightly as he held his hands a foot in a half apart. "I had heard you were entering the Chuunin Exams! Good!"

Alarmed, Gaara took a step back. He wasn't sure how this man knew who he was and what he meant that he had met him before. It was true that there was something familiar about him and it was a very freaky feeling that this man was giving him. But when Gai moved forward with his arms held out as if he was going to hug him, the sand immediately reacted to Gaara's feeling. It shot out of his gourd and wrapped around him into a sand sphere, stopping the man from coming any closer.

"Awww! You still don't like me! You really haven't changed that much then." Gai pouted, his shoulders slouched. "Okay, okay. I get the point. The only ones you ever liked was Kakashi and Jiraiya. And the Hokage, of course." He shrugged before looking at the others. "You guys and Lee should head over to the class room." Though his voice was somewhat muffled to Gaara because of the sand surrounding him.

There was a long silence for Gaara before he heard someone approach him then tap on his sand sphere. Just by the touch, he knew it was Sakura. "They're gone, Gaara." He heard her. So he dropped his sphere around him and return into his gourd. So it was just the four team members. Though Sasuke looked furious that he had gotten beaten by Rock Lee. He was shaking while glaring off in thought. Gaara wasn't the only one to notice though. "Sasuke…." Sakura said softly.

"Oh well. The Uchiha clan ain't worth much these days." Naruto remarked dryly. Both Gaara and Sakura shot the blonde a look of warning. They knew better than to taunt Sasuke at a time like this.

"Shut up…" Sasuke muttered. "Next time I'll beat him."

Naruto scoffed as he just looked away from the raven haired Genin. "Sure…" He mumbled. "You just got your ass kicked…"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled at him.

Gaara shook his head as he looked at his best friend. He knew that the blonde was stepping on a dangerous line. "Naruto, knock it off." He said quietly as he folded his arms.

There was a pause before Naruto lowered his hands, looking at the ground. "You saw his hand too…." He muttered, surprising Gaara. "That thick eyebrows must have trained really hard….every day. More than you. That's all it is."

Gaara frowned as he looked right at Naruto. He wasn't sure what he meant. What about Rock Lee's hands? Now he was wishing he had paid attention to the fight. He wondered what was wrong with the older Genin's hands. Then he looked over at Sasuke when he smirked with amuse. "This thing is getting fun, this Chuunin Exam." He said. Gaara, Sakura and Naruto looked over at him before they all smirked and nodded in agreement. They had to admit it but the Chuunin exam seemed to be becoming a challenge for them. Just how Gaara liked it. "Let's go, Naruto, Sakura. Gaara." Sasuke said boldly. All three nodded as they started walking with him. This was something they were all now looking forward to.

"Oh, by the way," Naruto suddenly spoke up, remembering something. He looked at Gaara, tilting his head to the side. "Gaara, what was with the old bushy brows? He seemed to know you. Did you know him?" He asked, curiously. Gaara glanced side wards at the other three before looking forward again. He just frowned at the very question. He was wondering that himself. Gai had seemed to know him. He had recognized Gaara and knew his name. So they must have met sometime when he was a baby, too young to remember. He'd have to ask Jiraiya about it sometime.

"So, what was with the reaction to Gai, anyway? You looked really nervous when he saw you." Sakura said now adding onto Naruto's question.

With a short "hmph", Gaara folded his arms tighter around him and shook his head. There was only one answer he could come up with. "He was creeping me out." He said simply. And the other three just laughed at the answer.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

"Oh….So Sakura came too."

All four Genin of Team Seven frowned when they looked towards the 301 room and spotted Kakashi waiting for them there. It was a surprise to see him there. They hadn't expected him. It looked like he had been waiting there for a while. "Not that I was worried. You wouldn't have been disqualified if Sakura hadn't shown up. After all, there are three of you who wouldn't have backed down from the Chuunin exams." Kakashi said, sounding as if he was smiling.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sakura asked frowning.

Kakashi lazily shrugged as he stood directly in front of them. He looked like he was picking his words carefully before he decided to just come out and say it. "The truth is that this test can only be taken by teams of three." He told him.

"Huh? But you said taking the test was an individual choice. You lied to us?" Sakura asked, in alarm. The other three just looked as alarmed. They were glancing at one another. Though Gaara was frowning more deeper than the others. Didn't Kakashi just say that the exam could only be taken by a team of three?

Kakashi just shrugged again. "If I told the truth, Naruto or Sasuke would have pressured you to take the exam." He told Sakura as he looked at her. "Even if you didn't want to, if Sasuke asked you…You would even though it wasn't in your heart. For the sake of Sasuke….and well… Naruto too. Gaara probably wouldn't have said anything because he knew that it was pointless in making you do anything you didn't want to. He's not that type." He told her.

Sakura frowned in alarm but tilted her head to the side. "So if only Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara had shown up?" She asked uneasily.

"It wouldn't have mattered too much if it was just them three. Like I said, only three members a team can participate in the exam." Kakashi said simply shrugging. Now, all four Genin caught on. They all frowned before tilting his or her head. "Wait…only three…..but there's four of us. If there's only three….."

Kakashi nodded. "Yup. You've guessed it. One of you would have to drop out from the Chuunin Exams." He told them. All four looked at him with alarm now. They didn't like the sound of that at all. They all looked like they wanted to start yelling in protest. Gaara almost started glaring at Sasuke when he looked over at Sakura, almost as if he was going to tell her to drop out. But before they could, Kakashi shook his head. "Luckily for all four of you, you all are going to be in this together. I've managed to talk the Hokage into letting all of you participate as a team. And it wasn't just me who talked him into it, someone else had an influence in making sure that….that all four of you were in the exams." His one eye glanced at Gaara. For some reason, the red head knew that it must have been Jiraiya. Jiraiya must have talked with the Hokage, making sure that if he was going be in the Chuunin exams, he was going to BE in the Chuunin exams with his team.

"But you came of your own will, you guys are my proud team. Now go." Kakashi said, certainly sounding proud. Smiling, all four walked past Kakashi and pushed the doors open, entering the Chuunin examination room.

Only to freeze with surprise.

"Wow….." Naruto muttered in shock. Even Sakura looked shocked to see what was in the room. Sasuke and Gaara just frowned dryly as they looked around at the number of Genin inside the room. And most of the eyes were trained on them. There were so many of them and that made Gaara a little uneasy. He hated it when people stared at him. He could see quite a few on him.

Whap!

Gaara turned his head when he felt Chakra approaching them only to see the blonde haired Kunoichi, Ino leap onto Sasuke's back, hugging him around the neck. "Sasuke! You're here!" the blonde said cheerfully before smiling flirtatiously at the annoyed raven haired Shinobi. "Hi, cutie. Did you miss me?"

Beside the red head, Sakura was starting to blow up. "Get off of him, Ino-pig!" She snapped pointing at him.

Ino looked over at Sakura before snorting as if she found something very disgustingly amusing. "Why if it isn't Sakura. Big, forehead as always!" She remarked. Sakura really did blow up. She balled up a fist and glared hatefully at her once best friend. "What did you say?!" She yelled. Gaara just rolled his eyes and closed his eyes to try and concentrate on all of the Chakra inside the room. There were some very deadly ones in there somewhere. He couldn't pin point them though. His eyes opened again, however, when more Chakra approached. He looked to see Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi walk up. He crinkled his nose when he saw that the big bellied Shinobi eating something. He was always eating now that he thought about it.

"So you're taking this stupid test too? Don't die." Shikamaru said lazily.

Naruto rolled his eyes as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and made a face at the lazy Genin. "Oh, the stupid brigade." He remarked right back. Annoyed, Shikamaru returned the look, though more lazily. "That would be you, idiot." He then sighed as he looked everyone over. "Man, what a drag." He grumbled. Choji just kept on munching away on his potato chips. While Ino was arguing with Sakura.

"Oh! Found ya!"

Everyone turned around when they heard that voice only to see three more Genin that they were all familiar with. It was the dog Shinobi, Kiba Inuzuka and his dog, Akamaru, the weird silent one, Shino Aburame, and the shy girl that always stared at Naruto, Hinata Hyuga. She murmured a hello before blushing and looking away again when Naruto looked at her.

"Well, well, Everyone is here." Kiba said as he looked everyone over. He even glanced over at Gaara, somewhat surprised to see him but then he looked on.

Shikamaru didn't look amused as he turned to look at the boy with strange red rectangle tattoos on his face. "Geez, you guys too?" He groaned. Kiba just nodded as he looked everyone over again. "I see all 10 of this year's rookie Genin are taking the exam. I wonder how far we will get, eh, Sasuke?" He asked, grinning.

"Pft. You seem confident, Kiba." Sasuke remarked.

Kiba just shrugged as he tilted his head to the side, where his puppy was sitting, watching Gaara. The dog had not even looked at the others. And it seemed just a little nervous of him. It hadn't stopped staring at him when they approached. "We did a lot of training. We won't lose to you. Though, I'm not entirely sure that Blondie there will make it too far at all." Kiba remarked nodding to Naruto.

"Shut up! Sasuke might, but I won't lose to the likes of you!" Naruto yelled as he pointed at him. He looked furious than he had before when Rock Lee had wanted to fight Sasuke and not him. Gaara just looked away, still very agitated. This time, his eyes fell on a gray haired Shinobi who was watching them from the far wall. Just by looking at this older Shinobi, Gaara did not like him. He wore the traditional Shinobi outfit along with gray here and there. On his face, he wore thin rimmed glasses. And his eyes were on him, looking at him cautiously. It was like he knew about his reputation.

"Hmph. I doubt that, Naruto. And I highly doubt that red's gonna to get far either. I don't even remember him doing anything in the Ninja Academy." Kiba remarked, looking at Gaara.

Now Gaara looked back at him, through dull eyes. He was aware that the others were also giving him a look as if he didn't belong. They were sure making him feel like he didn't belong with them. But refusing to back down, Gaara folded his arms and gave them all a dry stare. Ino just made a face as she kept an arm around Sasuke's shoulders. "What IS he doing here anyway?" She asked as if she was disgusted by his presence.

"Ino-pig! You leave Gaara alone! He's here because he's qualified to take the Chuunin Exams!" Sakura snapped in Gaara's defense. "Unlike you, he's become quite the Shinobi, much like Sasuke!"

Gaara merely glanced at her before looking away. He didn't want to get into an argument at all. He knew it wasn't going to help either way. Naruto was nodding in agreement though. "Yeah! Gaara's a cool ninja! He'll probably beat all of you after I'm done with all of you!" He said grinning.

"Yeah right." Ino said rolling her eyes.

Kiba nodded in agreement as he looked Gaara over. He didn't believe Naruto or Sakura for a second that Gaara was much of a Shinobi. "Hmm. I don't remember Gaara even getting on a team anyway. Who taught him?" He asked, putting a hand onto his waist. He paused when Akamaru whimpered once as if trying to warn him about something. Especially with how Gaara was glaring at him. Sasuke just pushed Ino's arm off his shoulders, giving them all a dry look. "Be careful, Kiba." He said smirking. "Gaara was taught by our sensei too, along with Naruto, Sakura and me. He's a whole lot better than you think." He warned.

Everyone else just blinked in surprise but Kiba just rolled his eyes, not believing him. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"Hey you guys. You should be more quiet." It was the gray haired Shinobi who now was moving towards them. "You guys are rookies just out of the Academy, right? Screaming like school girls, geez." He shook his head. "This isn't a picnic."

Now all ten of the Genin all gave him a dry stare. They weren't even sure who this guy was, but telling them what to do like that didn't sit well with any of them. Gaara was glaring at him for even talking to them. He didn't like the looks of this kid anymore than the others. Beside Sasuke, Ino scowled at him. "Who do you think you are?" She asked moodily.

"I'm Kabuto." The gray haired Leaf Shinobi said before nodding towards them. "But instead of that, look behind you." As he had told them to, everyone turned around only to see several glaring eyes on them. There were mostly just a team of three looking at them. But still, they didn't look too thrilled that the Genin were bickering like this. "Those guys behind you are from the Hidden Rain. They have short tempers. Everyone is nervous about the exam. So quiet down before you cause a scene." Kabuto told them before smirking when all of them gave him a dark look. "Well I can't blame you. You're clueless rookies. You remind me of how I used to be."

Sakura tilted her head as she moved forward a step. She had the look as if she was analyzing this guy. It was a smart move of her, actually. Even Gaara had to watch him carefully. "Kabuto, right?" She received a nod from Kabuto. "So this is your second time?"

Kabuto shook his head as he placed a hand onto his hip pouch, beginning to get into it. His eyes flickered over to Gaara again before looking everyone over. "Nope. My seventh time. This exam is held twice a year so this is my fourth year." He told them.

Everyone stared at him in surprise, minus Gaara. He just folded his arms and tried to stare down this kid. But Naruto and Sakura looked impressed. "Wow, so you know a lot about this exam." The pink haired girl said. Kabuto nodded again as he pulled something out of his pack. By the looks of them, they were cards. "That's right." He then glanced over at Kiba. "Oh, yeah. Before I forget, I ought to warn you about something. Out of all ten of you," He paused looking each one of the Rookies over before his eyes stayed on Gaara. "That kid, right there, is the most dangerous."

"Huh?!" Several of the Genin wondered out loud as they all looked at Gaara. Even Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were looking at their teammate with curiosity. Gaara gazed back at the others before looking at Kabuto with suspicion. "How would you know if I was the most dangerous or not?" He asked dryly.

Smiling smugly, Kabuto held up the cards he held in his hand. He just looked right into Gaara's teal colored eyes, not looking afraid by his piercing gaze at all. "He, he. With these nin-info cards." He told them simply. All of the Genin frowned as they looked at one another before moving forward a step. Sakura merely glanced over at Gaara before shaking her head. "Nin-info cards?" She asked.

Kabuto just nodded as he crouched down and set the pack of cards down on the ground in front of him. "They are basically cards which have info burned on to them with Chakra. I have four years worth of info here. Over 200 cards." He told them before placing a finger on the card and sliding it right off the pack into the middle of the growing circle. He glanced up at Gaara as he stepped forward, standing next to Sakura and Naruto. Ino however, frowned as they watched as visible chakra began to swirl around the card under his finger. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"You can't view them unless I use my Chakra." Kabuto explained. "For example….." He paused before an image began to appear on the card.

It looked more like a map of all of the nations surrounding the Fire Country. This fascinated Gaara when he saw it. He had never seen anything like it before. His teal eyes fell onto the symbols of the card and frowned when he saw the numbers. It was some kind of graph.

"Wow, a really easy to read graph. What kind of info is this?" Sakura asked in fascination.

Kabuto just smiled up at her as he pulled his hand away from the card. "This is the number of those taking the exam and the breakdown of what country they are from." He explained carefully.

On the graph, Gaara frowned at the number under the Leave symbol. There were only 87 Shinobi taking the exam, including them, the rookie Genin. That was sure a lot though. But his eyes traveled to the other numbers. There were three Shinobi from the Land of Sound, which came as a surprise, six from both the Land of Waterfalls and Grass. Twenty-one Shinobi from the Rain Village. And then his eyes fell onto the Sand symbol. There were 30 Shinobi that was taking the exam. His mind immediately went to the two strange Sand Shinobi, Temari and Kankuro. He remembered the confrontation from the night before and remembered how they had not wanted their sensei to find out his name. Why did they try and make their sensei think he was Naruto? Why did they look so afraid when he almost said his name? It was like they were afraid what might have happened if their teacher knew who Gaara was. But the questions that bothered him the most was why did Kakashi join into making the guy, Deidara, was it?, into thinking that he was Naruto? And who were those Sand Ninja?

"Do you have cards with info on individuals?" Sasuke's calm voice broke into his thoughts.

Gaara blinked before looking at Kabuto as he just smirked at his raven-haired teammate. "He, he. There are some guys you're worried about?" He asked before nodding. "Of course. The info on all of this exams participants isn't perfect. But I do have it. Even some of you guys. Say something about these guys and I'll take a look." He told him.

Sasuke glanced over at Gaara, who looked back with a frown. There was a hint of a smirk on the young Uchiha's face before he looked back at Kabuto. "How about Gaara? Let's see exactly how dangerous as you think he is. And Rock Lee from Leaf." He said simply. Gaara made an annoyed face at Sasuke, but saw that the others looked just as curious as he felt. So he didn't say anything.

"Oh. You know their names. Should be easy then." Kabuto said before he picked up his cards and then swiped two of them from the top. Then he held them up, glancing at them.

Sasuke and the others frowned before they moved closer a step. "Show me." The raven haired Genin said seriously. That just made Gaara frown as he looked at his teammate. He wasn't sure why Sasuke wanted to know so much about him. They were teammates as it was. So he should have known about him. But without a word, he looked down at the cards now laying down on the ground for all of them to see.

"Okay, first is Rock Lee." Kabuto said as he kept a finger on the card on top of the one with Gaara. "He's a year older than you guys. Mission history; D ranked 20 completed. C ranked 12 completed. His sensei is Gai Maito. His Taijutsu have improved greatly in this year. The rest isn't impressive." He stated to them.

Gaara only frowned as he looked a status graph. From what he could see, Rock Lee was a Taijutsu specialist. But he didn't seem to have very much skill in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. And he didn't have a blood line trait like Sasuke had. His eyes slowly trailed over to the three small pictures on the card; his sensei and teammates. He made a face when he saw Gai. But beside his, in the middle was that girl. So her name was Tenten. And the long haired shinobi that had asked about him was Neji Hyuga. That made Gaara smirked inwardly. So this guy was related to Hinata. His teal eyes flickered over to the shy looking girl, who was eyeing that picture with a shudder. She didn't look too happy. She, in fact, looked terrified. That just made Gaara frown before he shifted his eyes back to the card as Kabuto continued.

"Last year, he gained attention as a talented new Genin but he did not participate in the exam. Like you guys, this is his first time. On his team are Neji Hyuga and Tenten." The gray haired shinobi said.

Then all eyes fell onto Gaara's info card and everyone frowned in surprise when they saw the lack of information.

"Next is Gaara of the Sand. Mission history; D ranked, 27 missions completed. Two C ranked missions and….oh, wow. A B ranked mission as a Genin. That's not common." Kabuto said, tilting his head. Gaara looked away while the other three glanced at one another. They all knew that their cards would probably say the same about their mission history. However, everyone frowned when they saw the status graph. There was no information at all. Only a large question mark. "This is odd. Usually I'm able to get at least little info on a ninja's status. But it's not saying anything. But apparently, he's done several missions without even a scratch. Well, maybe one or two. Seems to me he's on a team of five though. A sensei, the famous Kakashi Hatake and three other Genin. That would be you guys." He paused glancing up at Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. "But check that out." The gray aired shinobi said pointing. There was a small word near the graph. It was labeled as Ninja Level title; dangerous.

"How in the heck can Gaara be dangerous if it doesn't say anything?!" Kiba asked with annoyance.

Kabuto just collected the cards but paused when Gaara held out his hand. He stared at him for a minute before smirking when he realized what the red head wanted. So with a shrug, he gave him the Gaara info card. So obviously, Gaara didn't want him to be holding onto that card. So he respected the red head's request. "According to my info card, or what I felt when I touched that thing, it shivered. That's telling me that the Shinobi who this card is about is not really on the same level as me." He then grinned around at everyone. "Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound….Many outstanding Genin from the various Hidden Villages are here to take the exam." He shrugged. "Well….the hidden Sound Village is a small village just created last year so there isn't much info but….the rest of the Hidden Villages are filled with talented youngsters.

"M-makes you lose your confidence…." Hinata suddenly murmured, surprising Gaara a little. He had never actually heard her ever say anything before.

Sakura nodded in agreement to what she said though. "So basically all of the people here are….." She said, somewhat down.

Kabuto nodded as he smirked at them. "Yup. Like Lee and Gaara, they are the top elite Genin from the various Countries." He told them.

Again, Gaara saw everyone glancing at him but he chose to ignore them as he looked down at his information card. He wanted to know what his own status was. He knew that he had a lot of skill in all of the Jutsu, but why hadn't anything shown up.

"This isn't going to be easy….." Naruto muttered. He suddenly began to shake, making Gaara frown at him. He was pretty sure that he was a little nervous. Even Sakura noticed so she reached over and patted his shoulder. "Hey, Naruto. Don't get so down….." She was saying.

But Naruto threw his head up, grinning as he threw an arm around Gaara's shoulders. "Hey! Gaara, he said you’re one of the top Genin! Right on!" He said brightly before pointing around the room at the other 158 Shinobi in the room. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I won't lose to you bastards! And neither will my pal, here, Gaara! We'll both kick all your asses!" The he burst into hysterical laughter while everyone else began to glare at them.

"Hey! What is he?!" Ino exclaimed to Sakura, who was glaring dully at Naruto. She wasn't the only one. Everyone was looking at Naruto with sweat drops rolling from their hairlines. Gaara, again, felt uneasy with so many eyes glaring at the blonde and him. But instead of backing up again, he folded his arms and glared right back. Almost daring them to make something of it. His teal eyes caught sight of the three Sand Shinobi, Kankuro and Temari looking at him through the crowd. Next to them, stood the masked one, who had his arms folded over his chest and he was putting all of his weight on one leg. But Gaara knew for a fact that he was looking at him through that one eye hole in his mask. And he could almost feel the smirk hidden under it.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed before she put Naruto into a choke hold, making him yelp. Naruto gasped as he was yanked backwards. "I was just speaking the truth!" He gasped. Sakura just gave him an agitated look before looking around at the other Shinobi in the other room. "Everyone, it was just a joke. He's quite stupid." She tried to explain, getting them to stop staring at them.

"No, he wasn't." Gaara said suddenly, making her blink in surprise. His eyes were dead serious as he looked around the room at the glaring Shinobi. "He's being very serious. We will defeat all of them."

"Ga-Gaara!" Sakura muttered, uneasily. She knew that it wasn't a good idea to get everyone so riled up on them when the exams hadn't even started. She, like the guys, knew for a fact that if a fight broke out right now, the Proctors of the Exam weren't going to do anything until the exam actually started. "Are you tr-trying to get us….."

Gaara tilted his head towards her, looking her right in the eye. "Relax, Sakura." He said calmly. "If any one of them even thinks about trying to fight us, I will deal with them." He added a very dangerous edge to his words while shooting the glaring Shinobi a deadly look. To his satisfaction, several of them froze by seeing how dangerous his eyes were looking at the moment. It made many of the Shinobi feel very uneasy by looking in the teal eyes. So most looked away to avoid eye contact with the very obviously dangerous tempered red head Genin. Even some of the other Leaf Genin looked away uneasily. Ino shuddered as she backed up a step.

But before anything else could happen, Gaara heard Shukaku growl a warning that an attack was coming. His head jerked off to the side and he searched the crowds before he spotted movement. One of the Sound Shinobi had leapt into the air, throwing three Kunai towards them, mostly at Kabuto, who leapt backwards. Gaara quickly grabbed a hold of his control over sand, almost daring the Sound ninja to come attack him and his teammates. Again, Shukaku snarled a warning, making him jerk around to see a slightly hunched over Sound Ninja standing behind them, forming a sign. But he was actually right in front of Kabuto. So it was the gray haired Shinobi they were after. The Sound Ninja swung at Kabuto, who quickly moved backwards to avoid getting hit. He succeeded.

But still, something seemed to have went wrong. One of Kabuto's glasses' lens shattered, making him frown before he took them off to examine them. He was smirking though, as if he was amused.

"What's going on? He dodged it? So why did his glasses….." Sasuke asked, now stunned but serious. Shikamaru just shook his head as he looked right at the Sound Ninja. "It probably glanced his nose, that's what you get for acting like a big shot." He muttered lazily.

"Yeah, but it was Naruto and Gaara who challenged them, not Kabuto." Ino said with a frown.

However, something seemed to be bothering Kabuto now. His eyes grew wide and he fell to his knees, doubling over. To Gaara's disgust but surprise, the gray haired Shinobi emptied his stomach on the floor right in front of them.

"AHH! He threw up!" Naruto stated the obvious.

Sakura looked rather concerned and shocked at the same time as they all looked at the gray haired Genin. "Kabuto!" She cried out.

Before them, the three Sound Shinobi stood smirking at them. They looked rather proud of their selves while the rookie Genin crowded around Kabuto to see if he was okay. "How pathetic, especially because aren't you a 4 year veteran?" The hunched over Sound Ninja asked, smugly. The other tall thin Sound Shinobi nodded as he folded his arms. "Write this down on your stupid cards. The Three Hidden Sound Ninjas, definite future Chuunin." He remarked before he frowned when Gaara, positioned himself to stand in between them and the three Sound. He gave them a very deadly look, who looked at him rather smugly. "What are you looking at, you ugly red haired brat?"

"WHY YOU…?!" Naruto exclaimed now standing up, ready to bolt at the Sound Ninja. Even Sakura and Sasuke were glaring at the Sound Ninja for insulting Gaara like that. Gaara just glared coldly right into the Sound Ninja's eyes, letting his sand swirl right out of his gourd in a threatening way. He dipped his head down while folding his arms tightly as he gave the three the most deadly look as he could managed.

The female Sound Ninja looked somewhat uneasy as she stared into his eyes and she had no choice but to step back. The other two looked almost uneasy but didn't move, almost afraid that they did, Gaara would strike at them like a snake hunting a mouse.

Suddenly there was an explosion in the room, making all jump and spin around to face the front of the room. "Quiet down you worthless brats!" came a very harsh voice within the smoke. And as the smoke cleared, they were all able to see a huge group of Shinobi behind a large man that seemed very familiar to Gaara. All of them were wearing identical uniforms; dark gray uniforms. But the large man, unlike the others, was wearing a large black great coat. He was obviously the one in charge of the Chuunin exams. But still, there was something eerily familiar to Gaara about him. And it was not a pleasant feeling. Especially when that man looked directly at him with a very serious look of dislike.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Truth be told, Gaara was surprised when that older Shinobi started glaring at him like that. There was such a cold look in his dark eyes as he gazed right into the red head Genin's teal ones. It was like he knew who and what he was. And he knew it was him that the Shinobi was looking at because his eyes never left his at all as he slowly lowered his gloved hand.

Even a few others noticed that the man was looking at Gaara. They were glancing at the young Genin and then back at the Shinobi who just appeared. Gaara didn't pay attention to them though. His teal eyes were only on the man as he slowly brought his sand back into his large gourd.

After a long moment, the man finally tore his eyes away from him and looked around as a very unsettling smirk curled on his face. It was rather sinister and it made several of the Shinobi look very uneasy. Gaara was not one of them. He just continued to look at the Shinobi, wondering why he had been looking at him like that. "Thank you for waiting." The man said, as he looked around the room but then his eyes fell onto the ones in the back again, on the Gaara and the Sound Ninja. "I am Ibiki Morino. The Examiner for the Chuunin selection exam's first test." Then he rose a hand and pointed towards the back of the room. For a moment, Gaara thought he was pointing at him. "Hidden Sound Ninja, stop doing as you please before the exam." The man, Ibiki, spoke up. "Do you want to fail already?"

The three Sound Ninja turned around and looked directly at the Shinobi pointing at them. "I apologize." The hunched over Sound Ninja said. "This is our first time. We got carried away."

Ibiki narrowed his eyes as his head dipped lower. He had a cruel smile on his face though as he looked right at the Sound Ninja. But then his dark eyes flickered over to Gaara and the smile was gone. He looked almost as if he wanted to have the red haired Genin tossed out of there already. "Here's some advice." He began with a warning tone. "There will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if permission was granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated." His head dipped even lower until his chin was nearly pressed into his neck and his eyes looked even more sinister. "Those that disobey me will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

Several of the Shinobi in the room gulped nervously as they forced theirselves to nodding. The Sound Ninja looked rather smug but Gaara narrowed his eyes right back at Ibiki. He really did not like this man. He was looking at him with the same eyes that everyone used to look at him, and still did, just because he was different than the rest.

"Heh, this exam is sounding easy." The tall, thin Sound Ninja said. And to almost all of the Genin's surprise, all of the Proctors began to smirk or chuckle darkly. They obviously did not agree.

Ibiki finally decided to stop glaring in Gaara's direction and looked around the room at the other Genin as his head came up high again. "We will now start the first test in the Chuunin Exams. Instead of your current arrangements..." He paused now lifting his hand to reveal that he was holding a numbered tab. "You will pick one of these tabs and sit in the seat assigned to you. We will then hand out the exams."

There was a long pause as even Gaara blinked in mild surprise. He hadn't been expecting this one. So the first part of the exams was a written exam. He didn't have any problem with written exams at all. He remembered he had always been good at them, which he had Shukaku to thank for, unfortunately. But...his teal colored eyes glanced over at his blonde friend, who immediately looked horrified.

"WHAT?! A PAPER TEST?!" Naruto exclaimed at the top of his lungs, gaining a lot of attention but no one said anything. Ibiki, however, just grinned a very evil smile.

After getting his number, Gaara went to the seat where he was assigned to. He was rather in a bad mood though. The proctors had made him set his gourd off to the side of the room, claiming that, and he quoted, "You might CHEAT this exam by hiding answers inside it or something." That just made him glare at the proctor who said that. But with a decent amount of sand stuffed into his pockets and cling to his skin now he sat at the desk where he was at, while glancing off to where his team mates were sitting.

His teal eyes caught sight of Naruto in the 53 seat, and looking very miserable as it was. The red head pitied his best friend right about now. He knew for a fact that Naruto was really horrible at written assignments. But, nonetheless, Gaara found it rather amusing that Hinata Hyuga was seated right next to him.

Sakura was nearly in the middle of the room, several rows away from Gaara and she looked rather nervous. While Sasuke, on the other hand was in the far back. He didn't look worried for himself at all. Gaara just shook his head before looking forward as Ibiki began to speak again.

"There are many important rules to this first test." The Shinobi said sternly as he wrote on the board without even looking at it. That was rather surprising. Gaara didn't know that someone could do that. "I'll write it on the board while I explain. But questions will not be allowed, so listen carefully." The Shinobi said.

'No questions? You've got to be kidding me.' Gaara thought bitterly to himself. This Shinobi, Ibiki, was obviously a very morbid, tough, bossy guy.

'Why don't you just kill him and give me his blood then? I wouldn't mind a snack before having to tell you all the answers to this stupid thing.' Shukaku growled with sick pleasure to him.

Gaara grumbled at the demon before shoving him back into his mind. 'When I need your help, I'll ask for it. That goes for your opinion too. So be quiet.' He thought savagely to the demon. In return, Shukaku lashed out at his mind with a minor storm, making him wince. But the argument was over before it began.

"The first rule. You guys will start off with 10 points. The test is made up 10 questioins and each one is worth a point. But..." Ibiki began as he turned and faced the black board and began writing the rules. "This test usues a subtraction system. Basically if you answer all the questions correctly, you keep your 10 points. But say if you miss three questions, you lose three points and will have 7." He said before turning around and looking everyone over again. "The second rule...this is a team test. Whether you pass or not will be determined by the combined score of your teammates. So each team will compete to see how many points they can hold on to from the initial team total of 30." He stopped talking when there was a loud thud.

Gaara turned his eyes over to where the thud came from and saw that Sakura had dropped her head heavily onto the desk before it whipped up again and she rose a hand. He made a groan within his throat when he realized, she was about to ask a question. That had been something that Ibiki said that there wouldn't be.

"Wait a second! I don't understand this initial points system either, but why is it a team test?" The pink haired girl asked.

Ibiki's eyes narrowed as he looked at her with annoyance. "Silence! I said no questions asked! There is a reason for this, so shut up and listen!" He snapped.

Hot rage burned within Gaara for the way Ibiki spoke to his teammate. He really wanted to teach this guy a lesson for talking to one of his friends and teammates like that.

'Yes! Let the blood be spilt!' Cheered Shukaku savagely.

'How about not?' Gaara thought to the demon just as savagely.

'Brat!'

Gaara rolled his eyes before listening to what else Ibiki was saying, while letting the sand swirl in his pockets to distract his murderous thoughts of what he wanted to do Ibiki.

"Okay, and now the most important rule." Ibiki continued. "The third rule is that during the exam, anyone CAUGHT by the proctors doing sneaking activies, namely cheating, will have 2 points subtracted for every offense." That caught Gaara's attention immediately. There was a hidden meaning under that, he realized. "So there will be some who will lose all their points during the exam and be asked to leave." Ibiki added.

"We'll have our eyes on you guys." spoke up one of the Proctors. Gaara tilted his head towards the one that spoke and then his face darkened when he saw that it was an older version of one of the bullies from earlier. Next to him was his old bully. So they had been using a transformation Jutsu earlier to make them look like they were Genin but weren't. Gaara felt like cursing himself out for not remembering the exact age of that bully that used to pick on him.

However, the Proctor's words had most of the Shinobi rattled.

"Realize that the pathetic ones that get caught cheating will be destroying themselves." Ibiki said smirking coldly as he looked around the room. His dark eyes fell onto Gaara though. "As Shinobis trying to achieve the level of Chuunin, be proud Ninjas." Then he paused. "And the final rule, those that lose all their initial points during the test and those that don't answer any questions correctly...wil be failed along with their two teammates. That also goes for the Leaf team with four teammates, especially." Ibiki finished, his dark eyes immediately flickering to the members of Team 7. But his eyes stopped on Gaara.

Gaara felt his temper rising up again while slightly nervous touch to it. This was not good news at all. For he knew that Naruto would not be able to pass this written exam without help.

Team 7 was officially screwed.

'I swear, even if you don't like it or not, brat.' growled Shukaku. 'If that blonde haired foxboy makes us fail, I will take complete control over this weak body of ours and rip him to shreds, bathing in his sweet, hot blood.'

Gaara knew he was serious. He could already feel the sandstorms within his head starting to swirl around, and they were hot. Wincing again, he reached up and touched his forehead, near the sign. 'Stop it, Shukaku! If you keep that up, I won't be able to concentrate on this test!' He thought bitterly to the demon. The storms immediately diminished. 'And don't worry about Naruto. I will make sure he passes this thing. If he doesn't, I'll probably kill him myself.' He almost felt the cruel smirk on the demon's face and he began to regret he said that.

"The exam will last one hour." Ibiki added. "Begin!"

So Gaara picked up his pencil and began to look the questions over. His eyes narrowed on some of them. This wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. These questions were nearly too advanced for his level. But it wasn't like he didn't know how to do some of them. In fact, the first one, which was a cryptogram, he knew instantly. He remembered something like this. But choosing not to answer just yet, he merely glanced over his shoulder towards Sasuke, who was glaring at Naruto's back while bouncing his pencil between his fingers. His dark eyes flickered over to Gaara's before they narrowed. It was almost as if he was trying to tell him something. Gaara caught the message though. "Help Naruto if you can." Sasuke's eyes read before they turned onto his own paper to concentrate.

Frowning, Gaara looked over each of the questions just to see what the challenge was. His teeth immediately snapped together when he saw exactly how difficult these questions were. They were definitely not among his level. They were in trouble because of Naruto. Even Gaara knew he wasn't going to be able to answer all of them. His eyes fell onto the last question; number 10. That one just made him frown.

"Question 10

This question will be revealed 45 minutes after the test begins.

Listen to the examiner closely before answering."

That was not just some normal question but Gaara really hoped that it would be an easy enough question for Naruto to answer on his own. His teal colored eyes flickered to the back of his friend again and he saw a very weird look on his face. Naruto was starting to turn a little pale green with fear and panic.

'Great. I'm definitely going to have to find a way to help Naruto.' Gaara thought dryly before looking back at his paper. He paused to think about the rules again. He remembered what Ibiki had said about the rules and had already starting to catch on to what the real initiative was. He had a distinctive feeling that this test was mostly just about cheating. It was encouraging the participants to cheat so that most of them would fail and get kicked out.

'Finally catching on, are you?' Shukaku asked, chuckling darkly.

Gaara tilted his head to the side as if to look at the demon, himself but he kept his eyes on his paper. 'What is it now?'

'Open your eyes, brat! This is an Intelligence Gathering test! You're suppose to cheat without getting caught! They're trying to see if you can SPY on others without getting caught!' snarled the demon.

Gaara's eyes narrowed but his lips twitched as if he was about to smile. He had already figured that out but Shukaku had determined his guesses as truth. 'I already knew that. But thanks for confirming my suspicion.' He thought smugly to the demon.

'Grrr. I really hate you.'

'I know. And I hate you too.' The red haired Genin thought as he smirked to himself before he stretched out a hand and began to summon the grains of sand from his pockets. It was time to come up with a plan into getting this done. The tiny grains of sand began to swirl into the palm of his hand.

During this time, several of the participants were caught cheating and the Proctors demanded that they left with their teams. Some immediately argued that they hadn't been cheating and when they did that, the Proctors got a little rough.

Gaara ignored them though. He was just concentrating on the palm of his hand, where several grains of sand began to swirl together, creating his third eye while his left was closed. With his other hand, he pretended to be rubbing it as if something was in it, when in fact, he was using a hand sign doing it. He didn't even notice that Ibiki was watching him carefully. Within his closed left eye, he was able to see through his third eye. Smirking to himself, he closed his fist tight, smashing the eye and sending the grains of sand in different directions. He kept rubbing at his left eye, as if it was irratating him while controling the tiny grains towards a kid the third row. It was this kid that he decided to cheat on. So blowing a few tiny grains of sand into his eyes, he formed the other grains into his third eye and began to copy off his paper. Smirking to himself, Gaara began to write down the answers while going over the possibilities that they might be wrong or right.

"Excuse me!" Came the voice of Kankuro, breaking into his thoughts.

Gaara tilted his head to the side, glancing over at the Sand Shinobi, who stood up and rose a hand, looking at the Proctors. Kankuro had a very sheepish look on his face and he was lightly dancing a little as if he was having bladder problems. But apparently that was what it was because he asked to go to the restroom. A very unfamiliar Shinobi groaned before walking over and handcuffing him then led him out of there.

However, Gaara wasn't paying attention to them anymore. His eyes flickered forward to where Naruto was sitting again and saw that the blonde looked extremely miserable. He was bent over his desk with his hands entangling his hair, almost pulling the hairs out by the root. Frowning, the red haired Genin knew he needed help. So he quickly finished up copying his answers before sending the grains of sand drifting towards the blonde.

Naruto never even seemed to notice as the grains of sand began to fall onto his hand becoming almost a second skin to him. Until his hand began to move on its own. Startled, he looked at his hand which felt like it was being forced to pick up his pencil. He didn't understand it until he felt tiny prickling sensations in his skin. He frowned as he moved closer when his hand began writing down answers and then he noticed the tiny grains of sand. Blinking in surprise, he almost made a glance over his shoulder, trying to locate Gaara but then chose not to. The last time he did that, a kunai had nearly sliced his face trying to slice the participant's paper from behind after getting caught too many times. So instead, Naruto frowned firmly before he reached up and tugged off his forehead protector, pretending to be wiping fingerprints off the metal surface, only to see Gaara's reflection several rows back. The red head was looking his way and there was a smirk on his face as he paused to let Naruto look through his forehead protector at him before he helped him tie it back around his forehead and then controlled the blonde's hand to writing the answers.

In the front of the room, Ibiki was now smirking as he watched Gaara. 'Very impressive. Seems that the little sand demon has learned several new tricks during these years.' He thought to himself. 'Not bad at all. There's no way he'd get caught doing that.'

"Okay." He suddenly spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "We will now start the 10th question."

Gaara quickly made Naruto finish writing down the answers before letting his come back to him, with no exception that a few grains fell onto the desk while trying to hurry. He need to concentrate his fullest on this last question. And now that Naruto was looking somewhat more relieved after getting help, he could relax himself. However, he noticed that the black clad Sand Ninja, Kankuro had not returned just yet. And with a quick glance over to Temari, she was looking a little agitated. The other one, which he had not even gotten his name, the one with the strange mask...Gaara felt himself sweat drop when he saw that the masked Sand Ninja was slumped over as if he was asleep.

"Now before we get to it, I'd like to go over the added rules for this question." Ibiki spoke up, and that made all of the remaining Genin grow very tense. They did not like the sound of this.

Just then the door slid open and Kankuro came walking in with the Proctor. All eyes turned around looking at him, while Ibiki chuckled as he lift his head higher. "Nice timing." He stated. "Was your doll playing helpful?"

That made Gaara and several others frown, while Kankuro stiffened. So he obviously knew what the Shinobi meant. But the others didn't. A quick glance to the blonde Sand ninja, Temari, Gaara saw how relieved she looked to see her younger brother. The other one, the masked Sand ninja was still snoozing as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Just sit down." Ibiki ordered.

Gaara watched as Kankuro walked towards his seat, passing by Temari and their hands brushed against each other. This brought a mild smirk to his face. He already could figure that Temari had been depending on Kankuro for his answers. But still, what had Ibiki meant about doll playing? He turned his teal eyes onto the Proctor that had been escorting Kankuro to the bathroom before he realized it. That wasn't a Proctor.

'Bingo, brat. That's that stupid doll that he was working on last night!' growled Shukaku.

Gaara ignored the demon as he turned his eyes onto Ibiki, who was now pacing in front of everyone. The Shinobi was still watching them all carefully. "I'll now explain. These are the rules of desperation." He stared. Even Gaara had to frown as he took in the information. He wasn't sure what the sadist like Shinobi meant. But he knew they were about to find out. "First, for this 10th question, you must decide whether you will take it or not." He added. Again, Gaara frowned with the rest of them.

"Choose?!" came Temari's outraged confused cry. "What happens if we choose not to?!" She demanded.

There was a long pause as Ibiki stopped pacing, looking towards the window in front of him before he turned to face the participants. There was a very cool smirk on his face, but his eyes were deadly serious. "If you choose not to, your points will be reduced to zero. You fail! Along with your teammates!" He barked.

There came an outburst of rage from several of the Genin. None of them were happy to say the least. A few were shouting at him but they immediately shut up by seeing the dark look in his eyes. "And now, the other rule," Ibiki spoke up, interupting them. Gaara folded his arms and glared at the examiner before them. He really did not like this man at all. It sounded like he was making up the rules now. Just to get everyone so riled up. "If you choose to take it, and answer incorrectly, that person will lose the right to ever take the Chuunin selection exam again."

Now that really had everyone riled up. So many people went very quiet before Kiba jumped to his feet from somewhere to Gaara's left. "What kind of stupid rule is that?! There are guys here who have taken the exam before!" He exclaimed and Akamaru was snarling and barking along with him.

Ibiki, however, just began to chuckle darkly as his head dipped down low. It startled many of the Genin on the way he was laughing. It was almost evil. "You guys were unlucky. This year, it's my rules."

Gaara sweatdropped with unease now. So he was right. Ibiki WAS making up the rules as he went. That was a little unfair. But who said this man was fair? And if the man really didn't like him, he could choose to fail Gaara, along with his teammates.

"But I am giving you a way out. Those that aren't confident can choose not to take it and try again next year." Ibiki said seriously, yet with very dark amusement. "Now, let's begin...the 10th question." He paused. "Those that do not wish to take it, raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, leave."

There was a very unsettling feeling in the air. Too many Genin were so uneasy and too many emotions in the air. It was starting to get to even Gaara. He could almost taste the fear and unease on the air. Shukaku was starting to get a little riled up.

"I..." someone suddenly spoke up, making several eyes look over at him. It was the Shinobi sitting right by Naruto. "I won't take it! I'm sorry...Gennai...Inoho..." Then slowly, a few hands went up and Shinobi began to stand up and leave the room.

Gaara felt a cold sweat roll down his back as he continued to feel the edge of unease all around him. He really wasn't liking this at all. These emotions of fear were seeping into him with every breath he took. And the smell of fear was making things worst with Shukaku.

'Oooooh. So much fear, so much blood sitting all around us. I want to taste that blood.' the demon purred with unsatisfied pleasure. "Blood. Blood. BLOOD! KILL THEM, GAARA! SOAK US IN BLOOD!'

Gaara gritted his teeth as he tried to shove the demon back again, only to freeze with alarm. His eyes grew almost big as saucers when he saw the trembling hand of Naruto starting to rise up into the air, as if he was going to give up. 'Wha-?! No! Naruto!' Gaara gasped within his mind, his arms unfolding and dropping onto his sides. And it only pissed the sand demon off to see that hand rising above the blonde's head.

'THAT'S IT! HE'S DEAD! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!' Shukaku roared with rage.

SLAM!

Naruto slammed his hand down hard on the desk in front of him, a grin on his face as he looked right into Ibiki's eyes. "Don't underestimate me!" He bellowed, making several blink in surprise, including Ibiki. "I will not run away! I'll take it! Even if I'm a Genin forever! I'll will myself to becoming Hokage anyway! So I don't care!" Naruto yelled with his original grin on his face. "I am NOT afraid!"

Ibiki, however, kept his face completely straight as he slowly looked around the room, his eyes pausing on Naruto again then moving onto Gaara. They narrowed but there was a hint of a smile in them. "I'll ask you again. Your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit." He said, trying to make everyone uneasy again.

But Naruto grinned as his head dipped down. "I never back down from my own words. That's my Ninja way." He suddenly said.

Gaara felt Shukaku settling down within his mind as the spell of unease was suddenly lifted right off of everyone in the room. The corners of the red head's curved upward as his arms returned to folding across his chest. 'Good job, Naruto.' He thought to himself. He saw several others smirking with him. So Naruto had just cleared everyone's worries.

Finally smiling, Ibiki nodded as if impressed. Even the Proctors around the room were nodding their approval. They were all impressed with all of the bravery that was going on inside the room. "Good decisions." Ibiki stated as he smirked. "Now, to everyone still remaining..." He paused, making the unease come back. "I congratulate you on passing the first test!" He said boldly.

Several Shinobi, including Naruto went, "HUH?!", in alarm and confusion.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

"To the 78 who remain...Congratulations on passing the first test!" Ibiki said, getting a lot of confused and alarmed looks from every single Genin in the room. They were all confused of what he just meant. Very few remained calm though. Gaara was one of them. He just frowned as he continued to stare at Ibiki with confusion with everyone else. They all looked at the Shinobi as if he had grown another head or something.

"Wait..." Sakura spoke up from where she was sitting. "What do you mean? We already pass? What about the 10th question?"

And for the first time since he even entered the room, Ibiki gave them all a genuine smile as he looked right at the pink haired girl. He didn't look so cold anymore. "There never was such a thing. Or you could say that those two choices were the 10th question." He announced, surprising everyone in the room. Gaara felt the veins in his temples starting to throb as he gave the Shinobi a very annoyed look. So obviously, the two choices to quit or stay was just a trick to scare some of them.

Temari shot to her feet and glared at the Leaf Jounin with a highly annoyed look. "HEY! Then what were the first nine questions for?!" She exclaimed with anger. She was not very amused at all that this whole test was a sham. "They were pointless!"

Ibiki just shook his head as he stuffed his large hands into his pockets and smiled at her. "They were not pointless. They had already served their intended purpose." He began to explain. He only got a blank look from the blonde Sand Shinobi. "To test your individual information gathering ability. That purpose."

'HAH! So I was right! Congratulate me, stupid human!' Shukaku bellowed at Ibiki within the young Sand controller's head.

Gaara made a face at the loud voice inside his head before looking dryly at Ibiki. 'Shukaku, stop shouting. It's hurting my head. Besides he can't hear you.' He remarked to the demon. He sensed the dry annoyance from Shukaku but the demon didn't reply after that. So he turned his attention back onto the Shinobi in the front of the room.

"First, as the rules explained, success on this test is based on the whole team doing well. This puts pressure on each member not to mess things up for their teammates." Ibiki explained to them. Gaara could hear Naruto muttering to himself, something about how he knew the purpose of the test and that just made the red head roll his eyes. He knew for a fact that was a complete lie. "But the questions on this test were not the types that a mere Genin could answer. Because of that..." Ibiki continued. "I'm sure most of the people came to the same conclusion that to score points...they had to cheat. Basically the premise of this test is to cheat. As cheating targets, we had two or so Chuunins who knew all the answers mixed into the crowd." He told them. "To help you guys out."

Blinking, Gaara looked around the room to see a few of the Genin stand up, grinning. They were obviously the Chuunins and not Genin. And the one that he cheated from was one of them as he was continuing to rub his eyes where the red head had blown sand into. That just made the sand controller pull a face.

"Ha, ha, ha! I saw right through that! You'd have to be a moron to not notice that!" Naruto laughed sheepishly.

Gaara gave his best friend a very dry stare for that remark. He wished that Naruto would stop trying to show off all the time. Or lie for that matter. But choosing not to reply, he folded his arms and looked forward, only to see that Ibiki was now reaching up and pulling his black bandana and headband off his head. 'What is he doing?' He thought.

"But those that cheat poorly, fail of course." Ibiki said before pulling off the black fabric.

Immediately, all of the Genin froze with alarm. Gaara was definitely one of them. He had never seen such a thing like that before. It was a no wonder why he wore the bandana over his head.

There was no hair on Ibiki's head. He was completely hairless, due to the fact that there were so many scars crisscrossing all over his head. There were even dents all over, as if someone had put holes into his head. He was completely disfigured. It was the remanents of horrible torture. So sometime in Ibiki's past, he had been tortured terribly for information. Gaara highly doubted that this man let out any information to his enemies though.

"Because in times, information is more important than life...and on missions and the battlefield, people risk their lives to get their hands on it." Ibiki said, letting the Genin see his horrible scars before he tied his bandanna back onto his head. Gaara could only give him a mild look of pity. Now he understood why this man was so cool tempered and he couldn't blame him at all. "If the enemy or 3rd party notices you, there is no guarantee the info will be accurate." Ibiki continued. "I want you to remember this. Important information in your hands can be a powerful weapon for your comrades and for the village." His dark eyes flickered over to Gaara for a brief second before he shook his head. "So we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly seperated those that did not have the right abilities." He finished. Gaara's teal eyes flickered over when he heard Temari speak up next. "But I don't understand the final question." The blonde Sand Shinobi said. Ibiki just smiled grandly as he finished tying his bandana and then dropped his hands. "Qustion 10 is the true purpose of this test." He stated.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked tilting her head.

Ibiki just shook his head before lifting his hand again, making a hand sign. "Let me explain. The 10th question...the "take it" or "not to take it" decision. Obviously these were painful choices. Those who chooses the latter fail along with their teammates. Those who choose to take it, could lose the chance to ever take the test again. A true leap of faith. How about these two choices...say you become Chuunins. Your mission is to steal a secret document. The amount of ninja, their abilities, ect. is unknown to you. And of course there could be traps set all around you. Now, do you accept or not accept. Because you don't want to die, because you don't want your comrades hurt...can you avoid the dangerous mission?" He only shook his head again. "The answer is no. No matter what the danger, there are missions you can't avoid. The ability to be courageous...and survive any hardship. This is the ability needed to become a Chuunin Captain."

Several Genin smiled. Gaara was not one of them.

"Those who can't put their destinies on the line...who cling to the uncertain future of "There's always next year"...and then they walk away from their chance. Those worthless pieces of trash who can only make cowardly choices don't have the right to become a Chuunin. That's how I feel!" Ibiki said, once again very serious. His eyes narrowed as he looked around the room, before pausing once again on Gaara. Gaara gazed right back at him. He wished the Shinobi would stop staring at him all the time. It made him feel uneasy. Ibiki then looked around the room again, his eyes falling on the sleeping Sand Ninja; Temari and Kankuro's partner. He did not look amused. But then shaking his head, he took out a kunai, holding it up. "And those who sleep when I'm talking don't amuse me anymore than cowards do." He then threw it at the masked Sand Shinobi.

Several of the Genin had grown very tense when they saw the kunai flying towards them, but then saw what his target was. It was more than likely that he was aiming at the Sand Shinobi's arm or something. Gaara just frowned when a few of the other Genin gasped in alarm. His teal eyes actually fell on Temari and Kankuro, who winced with a touch of embarrassment, yet worry at the same time. He couldn't tell if they were worried that they might get kicked out because of their foolish teammate or something else.

But before the Kunai could strike him, the Sand ninja's hand lashed upward and he caught the kunai right out of the air, shocking almost all of the Genin. Even some of the Proctors looked shocked that he caught the Kunai while his head was still resting on the table.

However, slowly, the masked ninja sat up and giggled. "Oops. Sorry." He said rather sheepishly. "Tobi supposes he dozed off. M' sorry again." He said before he slammed the Kunai blade first into the desk and he sat up straighter, hands folded together. "Tobi won't do it again. He's a good boy."

That just made Gaara frown, along with several others. It appeared that this Sand ninja, Tobi, was somewhat unstable. Otherwise he wouldn't be speaking in third person. But then again, he had caught the kunai without even lifting his head. The red head turned his eyes back to Ibiki, wondering if he was going to kick this Tobi out. And if he did, he knew that Temari and Kankuro would have to leave too. However, went he glanced over at the siblings, he saw how worried they were. But there was something bothering him. They didn't look worried about Tobi. They were actually looking at Ibiki with concern. 'What? Are they worried about him or that he might kick them out?'

'I don't care. And neither should you.' Shukaku growled.

Ibiki was quiet for a minute, rubbing his chin before he smiled again and looked around the room. "Those who choose to take it, answered the tough 10th question correctly. You will be able to survive any troubles you face in the future. You have made it through the entrance, the first test of the Chuunin Selection exam is now finished. I wish you guys luck." He stated. Though when his eyes flickered over to Gaara gain, the red head had a feeling that his word of good luck didn't include him.

"HELL YEAH!" Naruto cheered as he began jumping up and down. "Wish us luck!"

Several of the Genin just glanced over the over-cheerful blonde; some rolling their eyes and some smirking. Gaara did both, adding to shaking his head as he watched his best friend. 'That blockhead. Nothing seems to be able to keep him down.' He thought. Before he heard Shukaku growl a warning. His head jerked to the side when he felt Chakra now speeding its way towards the room, from the window.

Suddenly something big and black came crashing through the window, making several people jump to their feet. Some of the girls screamed and some of the young men yelped in alarm. Gaara had a firm grip on his sand, ready to use it if it was an attack. But after seeing that Ibiki just remained very calm as he watched the big black thing land right in front of him, he relaxed. The Shinobi, obviously, didn't fear whatever this was. In fact, he was chuckling and shaking his head. In front of him a large black sheet separated him from whoever it was.

A second later, everyone got to see who it was.

It was a woman about Kakashi's age. She had short raven black hair, which was somewhat similar to Sasuke's. It stuck up in the back. She was wearing a black net shirt and shorts under a long tan colored trench coat. She was sure pretty for someone so wild looking. Her eyes were a deep tan color but full of mischieviousness. She kind of reminded Gaara of Naruto in a way. Only a girl with black hair.

"You guys! This is no time to be celebrating!" She said rather loudly. Then grinned wildly. "I am the examiner for the second test! Anko Mitarashi! Now let's go!" She barked with a hand thrusted into the air. "Follow me!"

There was a blank silence as everyone stared at her with sweat drops rolling down from their hairlines. Gaara was actually kind of annoyed with the woman. Behind Anko, Ibiki stepped out from behind the sheet and looked right at the woman, who was frowning as she looked everyone over. She didn't seem to be amused about something. "78?!" She demanded before turning to Ibiki. "Ibiki! You left 26 teams?! The test was too easy this time!"

Ibiki only chuckled and shook his head. "This time," He paused. "There are a lot of outstanding ones." He remarked.

Anko crinkled her nose but then shook her head. She was not amused at all by this. "Bah! That's fine. I'll at least cut them in half in the second test." She stated, surprising everyone in the room. Gaara just frowned darkly as he eyed her. He dared her to cut him and his team from the Chuunin exam. Even Shukaku was growling within his head. "Ahhh. I'm getting excited. I'll explain everything once we've changed places. Follow." Anko added before she turned and walked right out of the room. One by one, everyone stood up and left the room after her.

However, Gaara paused to look back at Ibiki as he went over to where Naruto had been sitting. He watched as the man looked down at the sheet of paper, frowning in surprise as he fingered the grains of sand before smirking. Then Gaara went after the others.

The large group of Genin were lead outside the Village to the gates of the Forest of Death gates, some were murmuring to one another about what they were doing there. The forigners were not aware about this forest but the Leaf Genin were. They all knew very well that the Forest of Death was completely off limits, unless you were training with Chuunin or Jounin. It was a forest full of very big trees and everyone knew that there were even bigger animals. On the fence before them, there was a sign that read; Danger! Stay out!

"Welcome to the stage for the second test! Practice Arena 44!" Anko said as she turned around and faced the Genin. "Also known as the 'Forest of Death'!"

Everyone just stood around, looking at one another or staring dully at Anko, almost asking if she was kidding. Gaara stood right next to Naruto, staring emotionlessly at Anko while his blonde friend was looking up at the high trees above them. Sakura moved a little closer to Gaara, looking rather nervous though. "This is creepy." She muttered.

Anko must have heard that because she started chuckling as she stood right in front of everyone, her fists on her waist. She just looked directly at Sakura as she tilted her head to the side. "You'll soon find out why it's called the 'Forest of Death'. She told them.

Annoyed, Naruto began imitating her, using a high pitched voice and saying, "You'll soon find out why it's called the Forest of Death.'" Then he pointed at her, grinning. "You think that scares me?! That's nothing! I'm not afraid!" He bellowed.

Anko just smiled as she looked right at the blonde, looking almost kindly at him. "Yeah….you're spirited." She said, in a friendly way. However, Gaara was not fooled. He knew there was a threat behind that. His eyes narrowed as he watched the woman carefully before he suddenly became alert when he saw a kunai fall right out of her sleeve into her hand. Without any warning, she flung it at Naruto in almost a blur and she vanished right from view. Gaara grew very tense when he felt the danger.

However, as the Kunai came too close to slicing Naruto's cheek, it hit a wall of sand, sending it richochetting right into a different direction, almost hitting a tall man with long black hair. He never moved though, as if he knew it was going to miss him.

Anko, however, had appeared right behind Naruto and Gaara, before she stepped back in surprise when the red head stepped in between her and the blonde, giving her a very dangerous look. Several people had froze when they felt the threatening atmosphere. Sand slowly was swirling around Gaara and Naruto, who was looking wide eyed at his best friend and the woman who nearly sliced his face open.

"Whoa…." Anko muttered when she looked right into Gaara's eyes, which was dark with a threatening resolve. She tilted her head as she eyed him longer then she smiled as she bent forward a little, nodding to him. "Oh yeah. I've heard of you. You're extremely overprotective over your friends and comrades. It's kids like your friend who are quickly killed…." She then looked up at his red hair before reaching out as if grab it. But a string of sand immediately wrapped around her wrist, holding it away. She just grinned at him. "You're hair reminds me of blood. And I so love blood. Oh, yeah. I think I'm really going to like you." She then nodded over to Naruto. "By the way, you didn't deflect it in time."

Frowning, Gaara glanced over his shoulder before smelling the blood. His eyes fell onto the small cut on Naruto's cheek, which was dribbling with blood. The red head gritted his teeth when he felt Shukaku's blood thirst starting to kick in.

Turning a sharp look onto a smirking Anko, Gaara felt a string of sand waver around Naruto before pressing against his cheek to let it soak some of his blood into it. He knew it was Shukaku who was doing it. But he didn't do anything to stopping the demon from lapping up some of the blood with the sand. As long as it shut him up, Gaara didn't mind. Instead, his teal eyes flickered over Anko's shoulder, who was already reacting. She yanked out another kunai and blocked whatever it was, but it was just the tall man with long black hair was holding out her kunai she had cut Naruto with, trying to return it. But the thing that had Gaara on the edge, was he was holding it out with an extremely long tongue. It must have been a foot in a half long.

"Here you're kunai." He spoke with a very feminem sort of voice.

Anko made a face as she looked at him with disgust but took the Kunai anyway. "Why thank you." She said still somewhat disgusted. Even Naruto looked disgusted with everyone else.

However, the man was no longer looking at her. His black eyes hiding under a large straw hat now was on Gaara, when there came a sound of rumbling inside his chest. Gaara was very tense as he stared at this tall man. He didn't know what it was but he felt a very strong feeling of danger. There was something very wrong about this tall man. He felt almost like this man was a poisonous snake in his presense. Even Shukaku felt uneasy. It was actually him who started growling. He had taken control over Gaara's voice and growled from deep within his chest. It caught a few attention. Even Anko looked at the red head.

The same thing seemed to be happening to the tall man. His head lifted higher and he drew back, looking at Gaara with a threatening but alarmed look. It was like he sensed the same danger from the red haired boy. He felt like he was in the presence of a predator. A small hissing sound came from deep within the man's throat as he glared suspiciously at Gaara, who glared right back.

"You know….." Anko decided to interrupt, after there was such a blood thirsty feeling in the air. She didn't want a fight to break out right now. Not with this kind of feeling. "You shouldn't sneak up behind me….unless you want to die." She finished.

The tall man tore his eyes off of Gaara before he drew back his tongue into his mouth and he smiled, pulling the straw hat over his eyes again. "No…I just get excited when I see blood. Plus you cut my precious hair. I couldn't help it." He said with a chuckle. He turned away, pausing to give Gaara another suspicious look before returning to his teammates.

"Sorry about that." Anko said though not sounding very sorry at all. She then chuckled as she nodded. "Looks like we have a lot of blood thirsty ones in this test."

Gaara just continued to glare at the tall thin man, who was looking right back at him, his smile no longer in place. He narrowed his eyes right back at the younger Genin before folding his arms and turning his head towards his companions.

"Now, before we before we start the second test, there's something I have to pass out." Anko announced before pulling out several sheets of paper within her jacket. It was a wonder how she had so many inside it. She held them up, smirking around at everyone watching her. "You must sign these agreement forms. There will be deaths in this one. And if I don't have you sign these, it will all be my responsibility." She finished while laughing.

Every single Shinobi there gave her a very a blank look while she started handing out the agreement forms.

"I'm going to explain the second test, then you can sign it afterwards. And then each team will check in at that booth behind me." Anko said.

Gaara really didn't feel like listening to her right now. He just began looking around at the other Shinobi while Anko was explaining the test. All he had heard was this was going to be an ultimate survival test. And that was all he needed to hear to know what was going on. He had been on so many survival tests as it was so he didn't care for the rest. If there were anything else important to hear, it would be Shukaku who would catch it, for he was the one listening. Instead, Gaara looked around until his eyes fell onto the three Sand Shinobi, Temari, Kankuro and their partner, Tobi. He was still a little wary about that one, Tobi. In the beginning when he met them at the inn the other night, the young Genin really hadn't put any thought about this guy. He had completely ignored him, not even thinking that he was worth his time. Shukaku hadn't even acknowledged him the first time, so he couldn't have been a threat or anything.

But, after what happened in the first test, when he suddenly woke up to Ibiki throwing a kunai at him and catching it without lifting his head, Gaara was now a little suspicious. And why had Temari and Kankuro been worried about the Jounin, Ibiki? He had seen the fear in their eyes, as if they were afraid that Tobi was going to start something.

"A final word of advice," Anko's voice broke into Gaara's thoughts. "Don't die." She finished. Gaara looked right at her, seeing that she was actually being very serious.

Almost ten minutes passed while everyone was filling out their agreement papers. Gaara was sitting off near Naruto filling it out, pausing now and then when Naruto asked for a little help. He was slightly agitated by his best friend but he never once complained as he just told the blonde what to do. But once everything was done, he and Naruto went back over to Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto had a very determined look on his face and it just made Gaara roll his eyes. From what they were told, they were entering the forest at Gate 12, which didn't bother Gaara at all.

Once they handed their forms in, they were given the scroll that they were suppose to carry, which Shukaku informed Gaara that they were suppose to steal another one from another team before reaching the center of the forest. Immediately, Sasuke handed the scroll to Gaara, surprising the Jounin working with them. "Gaara, I think this would be safer with you." He said. "Hey! What about me?!" Naruto exclaimed before getting clobbered over the head by Sakura and told to shut up. Then they were set in front of a gate, in which everyone was.

"The second test of the Chuunin exam, now begins!" Anko shouted before the gates swung open.

Immediately, the four teammates of Team 7 entered the forest with determined smiles on their faces. "OK!" shouted Naruto. "Let's go!"


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Team 7 were now running through the forest as fast as they could go, all four side by side, yet keeping their eyes on the scenery around them. They just kept moving without a word until they were almost a mile away from the gates, halting in their footsteps when they heard a piercing scream. All four jerked around and looked off into the trees with a frown. Gaara just shook his head as he let Shukaku make a quick scan of the area.

"That was...a human scream, right?" Sakura asked, beside him.

Gaara turned his teal eyes over onto her before nodding. "It would seem so." He said quietly. He saw her shudder, making him turn slightly towards her. "Sakura? You all right?"

Sakura slowly nodded and shrugged at the same time. "I'm getting a little nervous." She told him. Naruto snorted as he folded his arms behind his head. "This...this is nothing, Sakura!" He stated. Sasuke nodded as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Relax. Just stay close to us and nothing's going to happen." He said, sounding mildly annoyed with her. Gaara gave him a dark look for it but didn't say anything. His eyes flickered over at Naruto, who was staring off blankly before he wandered over to a bush. "Man, I got to take a piss." He said now undoing his pants.

Gaara sweat dropped but almost lashed out to hit him over the head for his behavior. However, Sakura beat him to it. She squealed in disgust before punching the blonde hard over the head. "What are you doing, you idiot?! Not in front of a lady! Go do it in the bushes!" She screamed at him. Naruto only yelped in pain but went off into the pushes like he was told to.

For nearly ten long minutes of waiting for Naruto come back out, Gaara, Sasuke and Sakura were highly annoyed for him taking so long. Sakura was grumbling threats of what she wanted to do to the blonde while Sasuke just leaned against a tree. Gaara had his eyes closed while trying to calm down a very irritated sand demon inside his head. He was starting to get frustrated with Naruto now. 'Come on, Naruto.' He thought. 'What is taking you so long?'

"Naruto!" Sakura bellowed into the trees. "Hurry it up!"

Gaara's eyes opened when he heard footsteps coming out of the bushes. He turned his head to see him coming out. Naruto was still doing up his zipper while grinning. "Okay, okay. I'm coming. Can't a guy take a leak in peace?" He asked laughing. Sakura immediately began yelling at him, while Gaara and Sasuke were suddenly looking at Naruto in alert. "I said not in front of a lady!" The pink haired girl yelled at the blonde, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

WHAM! WHAM!

Two fists came flying at Naruto's head and hit him so hard that he went sailing right into a tree, nearly causing a web of cracks in the trunk. It had been both Gaara and Sasuke who hit him hard across the head. Sakura blinked in shock as she looked at them both with wide eyes. "Wha-?! Sasuke, Gaara! Thanks for defending my honor but seriously! That was a little too much!" She yelped.

"What the hell was that for?!" Naruto exclaimed as he wiped blood from his lip.

Sasuke shot the blonde a dirty look while completely ignoring Sakura. His dark eyes trained on Naruto in a very threatening way. "Where is the real Naruto?!" He demanded. Sakura again blinked in surprise while Naruto just glared right back at Sasuke, still holding his cheeks where both Gaara and Sasuke punched him. "What...are you saying all of a sudden?" He asked, moodily.

Sasuke shook his head as he pointed at him. "Your shuriken holster is on your left side. Naruto is right handed. And the main difference is, you don't have that cut on your cheek where that examiner cut Naruto's cheek. You're a fake who's worst at transforming." He stated. Gaara folded his arms and glared darkly at the fake. "And I would know Naruto when I saw him. I have spent most of my childhood with him. So I know his smell." He growled, darkly.

The Naruto fraud snorted before there was a burst of smoke and he lunged forward. He was a tall ninja with long black hair and was wearing a mask of some sort. His forehead protector was of a Rain symbol. So it was one of the Rain Shinobi. "Unlucky! You figured it out! All well! Which one of you has the scroll?!" He exclaimed. But when they didn't answer, he snorted and rushed forward. "I'll just take it by force then!"

All three, Gaara, Sasuke and Sakura grew tense as the Shinobi was rushing towards them. The red head Genin was already having sand burst from his gourd and surrounding them but his teal eyes flickered over to Sasuke as he jumped into the air. "Gaara! Protect Sakura! Support me as back up if I need it!" He called to him before slamming his hands together and took a deep breath before he began spitting out fire balls at the Rain Shinobi. Gaara just nodded as he let his sand swirl ever closer to Sakura, who was stunned by what was happening all around her. Sasuke's fire ball attacks missed the Rain Shinobi as he dodged them and leapt up onto a tree branch. He seemed to have seen something from up there because he was growling in agitation before he had to leap backwards to avoid the kunai being flung at him by the Rain Shinobi. He bent pretty far backwards and peered from under the branch before seeing the sizzling note in front of his face. He had to leap to avoid getting hurt, even though the explosion sent him sprawling onto the ground. Wincing, Sasuke stood up, holding his arm before his eyes widened and he spun around. The Rain Ninja was right behind him, swinging his kunai at him.

Before the ninja could strike Sasuke, sand collided with him, slamming him into a tree and trapping him there. The ninja cried out in pain but couldn't do anything but turn his eyes over onto Gaara, who still had sand swirling around him and Sakura but a long thick strand of sand had shot towards him.

"Gaara, I didn't need your help." Sasuke said grumpily as he stood up.

Gaara just merely glanced at him before turning his eyes back onto the Rain Ninja, almost dangerously. He was trying to decide what to do with him. He wondered if he should just tie him up there against the tree or kill him. The latter seemed to excite Shukaku though.

'Yes! Yes! Kill him! Soak his blood in my sand!' the demon growled with glee.

The red head Genin's face hardened but then he shook his head as he just turned his eyes onto Sasuke. "Sasuke, tie him up against the tree. We have no need to kill him." He said, dryly. Sasuke gave him a dark look for making an order like that and he opened his mouth to argue with the red head. But Gaara quickly turned away because his demon was now making it harder on him, kicking up a terrible storm in his head. "Sasuke! Just do it!" He found himself snap.

Both Sasuke and Sakura blinked in surprise as they watched him but after a long moment, the raven haired slowly nodded and moved towards the Rain Ninja and tied him to a tree. Sakura just frowned as she moved closer to Gaara. She was confused on what was happening but she knew that something was wrong with him.

Biting her lip, she reached out and touched his shoulder, only to jump when he jerked away from her, panting as if he was out of breath. "Gaara?"

"I'm fine, Sakura." Gaara said taking deep breathes before he swung a hand towards the bushes and a long strand shot off into them. There was a long pause before they heard Naruto shouting in alarm. A second later, he emerged with the sand shooting back into Gaara's gourd. "Naruto, are you all right?" Gaara added a little dryly.

The only answer he got was a bunch of curses from the blonde.

After the Rain Ninja was securely bounded, the four team mates walked on through the forest. Sakura and Sasuke kept on glancing over at Gaara, whose face had become so hard that he looked like it was made of stone. He refused to look at them, but just stare right forward. Naruto noticed the sudden change in his best friend but was confused by it. He wanted to ask him what was wrong but he knew that look on his friend's face. He knew once Gaara had that look that he had on right now, he was in no mood to talking at all.

"That was way too close, guys." Sakura said with a sigh. "And he used Naruto's appearance to get close to us. If it wasn't for you and Gaara, Sasuke, we would have been in serious trouble."

Sasuke nodded as he merely glanced over at her before looking forward again. He was quiet for a moment before stopping and facing the other three, his dark eyes locking with Gaara's. "We need to come up with a way to keep our guard up." He shook his head as he dropped down into a crouch. Sakura and Naruto glanced at one another before joining him while Gaara just stood up with his arms tightly folded over his chest. Sasuke just glanced around at them before going on. "If we get separated again, we can't even trust each other. This could happen again." He stated.

"How are going to be able to work together then?" Sakura asked with worry.

Sasuke looked away for a moment before his lips curved upward into a smirk. He seemed to have come up with an idea then. "We need some kind of code that only us four will know. Listen, if they get the code wrong, assume they are the enemy no matter what they look like." He waited till all of them nodded in agreement before taking a deep breath. "Listen, carefully. I'll only say it once. The Nin Song, 'Nin Machine'. When this is asked, answer with, 'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the Shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared." He told them.

Gaara frowned when he listened to it. He knew he could remember that song, but he also knew that Naruto couldn't. His teal eyes flickered over to his best friend to see the clueless look on his face already. Then he smirked. 'That's the idea, isn't it, Sasuke? You don't want him to be able to remember it.' He thought before he nodded to Sasuke to let him know that he caught on.

"Okay." Came Sakura's reply, so she would remember it too.

Naruto just stood up, grumbling, "Wait, that's impossible to remember!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she stood up with them and started walking beside Sasuke. "Are you stupid? I already memorized it." She told him.

Gaara just nodded to Naruto who looked very dull look on his face. He didn't say anything though as they just walked on. However, after a few steps, the hair on the back of his neck started to stand up. He immediately stopped in his tracks and jerked his head around to look over his shoulder. He couldn't help but get the feeling that someone was watching them.

Suddenly there was an explosion of wind all around them, making Naruto yelp when he got hit by a speeding leaf flying at him. All four grew very stiff when they were nearly blow over by the powerful blowing at them. Gaara rose his arms to shield his face from debries. He heard Sakura scream as she fell to the ground after another powerful gust. He tried to get a look at her and his other team mates before a nasty gust whirled right into him, knocking him off his feet. However, strange it was, it also felt like something had just grabbed him from behind and tossed him right into the air.

The next thing he knew was he flying nearly fifty feet away from where he was just standing before he went sailing into the trees, nearly hitting every branch as he went down. Then he hit the ground with a painful thud and nearly lost his consciousness.

For a long time, Gaara laid there, shuddering in pain and breathing rather raspy. He had had the air knocked right out of his lungs and he was having a hard time breathing. He could feel his sand spilling from his gourd, falling all around him as he felt the lack of control for a moment. He just kept his eyes painfully tight while trying to replace the air back into his lungs.

After a minute, Gaara pushed himself up but not without wincing. He could see the cracks in the sand skin he wore all the time but it wouldn't take too long to repairing the sand shield he wore. He just held his chest as he sat up before pulling off his gourd, hoping it would help him put the air right back into lungs. He was pretty battered after that fall and he knew he must have bruised some ribs. But it wouldn't take long for those to heal. After living with Shukaku inside his body for so long, he found that he healed quickly, not that he recieved many injuries in the first place.

Glancing around, Gaara, spied that he was no sitting in a clearing and was definitely alone. There was no sign of his team anywhere. He was sure if they were around, he would hear Sakura screaming and would come running to make sure that he was okay after making sure that Sasuke was all right.

But no. None of them were around. He couldn't even sense them. They were too far away for him to be able to pick up their Chakra.

It was just Gaara in the clearing surrounded by broken branches from the trees and shards from his gourd. He frowned when he saw shards of his gourd before his teal eyes jerked around to see that there were pieces missing from it. Cursing, he grabbed it and looked at the large crack that ran down the middle of the giant vegetable. The fall had no doubt run its toll on it. Growling in anger, Gaara called back all of his sand and put it back into the broken gourd, and concentrating on it to make sure it stayed inside it. He would have to replace it some other time. But now was not the time. He needed to find Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke.

Pulling on his gourd once again, he began looking around the clearing, frowning. He had no idea where he was or how far he had fallen from the others. But he'd have to go climb a tree to see if he could see them from high above. "Naruto, Sakura...Sasuke, I hope you're all right." He whispered before starting to walk towards the tree lines.

Only to freeze again.

Two Ninja had just stepped out from behind the trees and were now walking towards him. They were two of the Grass Ninja, that very strange thin man's teammates, the one that Gaara didn't like. Growing very tense when he saw them watching him with a smirk, he knew they hadn't just come to see if he was all right after falling out of the air like that.

"Oh, here he is. I would have thought that fall would have knocked him out. He must be tougher than we thought." One of the Grass Ninja said, grinning at his partner.

The other just nodded as he eyed the glaring Gaara as they moved closer. He looked more alert though. He didn't seem to like the fact that the red head Genin was up too soon. "Let's hurry it up and kill him. I don't like being too far away from Lord Orochimaru as it is." he said, sounding only a little nervous. Gaara frowned at the name but then shook it out of his head. He didn't have time to ponder over that name. He knew that he couldn't be distracted right now. Not with these two threatening his very existence. He just folded his arms and dipped his head, giving them a daring look to even try to attack them.

Grinning, the two Grass Ninja dared. They charged forward, with kunai in their hands, ready to attack the young red head.

Gaara just dipped his head lower, now starting to summon out his sand form the gourd to attack back. But then after seeing sudden movement off to the side, he stopped. His eyes flickered off to the side just to see a flash of black and yellow right before him and a giant fan opened up, slamming into the ground.

"If you know what's good for you," Temari said very coldly as she eyed the Grass Ninja dangerously. "You will leave here now or you will be dealing with me."

"And me."

The Grass Ninja had already came to a halt when they saw her standing between them and their target but then their heads whipped around to see the other Sand Ninja, Kankuro, along with his puppet right in front of him. His fingers were glowing blue as he controlled it to jabber its teeth at the Ninja rather threateningly. The Grass Ninja frowned as they just looked between the two before they smirked and quickly moved in different directions, one to each of the Sand Shinobi. "If you want to get in our way of our mission, fine! But you are going to die here and now!" The one rushing at Temari yelled as he began to throw Kunai.

Temari just smirked before she quickly picked up her fan and held it tightly in her hands. She glanced over her shoulder at a surprised Gaara and gave him a nod. "Stay back, Gaara! We'll handle these goons!" She said before she spun in a full circle and swung it at the quickly approaching Ninja. A blast of wind blew from the fan, hitting the Grass ninja before he could strike her. The gust sent him flying several feet back before she was quickly following after him with her fan trailing behind her. She quickly approached the Ninja before slamming the fan into his head and knocking him towards Kankuro and his puppet.

Kankuro hadn't really moved from where he was standing, glaring at the Grass Ninja running at him. He just smirked coolly before thrusting his glowing hand out and the puppet was moving off to the side, letting the Ninja pass by him. The action surprised the Grass Ninja but he kept running towards the Puppeteer. Kankuro just smirked as he yanked his other hand in towards his body, not looking worried at all that the Grass Ninja was getting ever so dangerously close to him.

Instead, several pairs of wooden arms suddenly wrapped around the Grass Ninja, shocking him as he whirled his head around to look at the puppet now on his back. The arms continued to wrap around him until they were around his neck. But before anything else could happen, Kankuro jerked his wrist and the puppet snapped the Ninja's neck before quickly dropping the freshly dead body. Then the puppet whirled around sharply just as the other Ninja was sailing towards it. It caught the ninja quickly in its many arms before doing the very same thing it did to his partner.

A moment later, it was silent.

Gaara watched the pair of Siblings fight the Grass Ninja, slightly surprised that they had even came to his aid. He really hadn't been expecting this at all. They had just come out of nowhere and helped him when he was more than able to taking care of the problem himself. Why did they do that? They were enemies in the exams. Did they not get that? Even more, they had just killed these two to protect him.

"You're not getting my team's scroll in repayment for your help." Gaara stated dryly as he eyed the two.

Temari and Kankuro turned to look at him with surprise but then glanced at one another as they shared a very faint smile together. Shaking their heads, they moved towards Gaara, being slow as not to make him grow tense or anything. They didn't seem to want to fight him for the scroll anyway. The blonde Kunoichi just shook her head as she met Gaara's eyes. "We don't want your scroll, Gaara." She then tilted her head as she looked him over with mild concern. "Are you all right?"

Frowning, Gaara gave her a suspicious look before he felt his side throb a little from one of his bruised ribs. He winced a little but then turned away and went over to a log to sit down on and examine his broken gourd again. He saw the two siblings move closer but he didn't pay them any mind. "I'm fine." He said dryly. "Why did you help me then? What do you want? And what is that?" He asked, throwing a pointed look towards the puppet beside Kankuro.

The two glanced at the puppet before the puppeteer shook his head, grinning at the red head. "This? This is Karasu. He's my puppet. You saw me working on him the other night." He told Gaara.

Slowly, Gaara nodded but then looked back at Temari who seemed to be looking him over for any injuries. He frowned at her again before propping his broken gourd against the log and folded his arms, giving them a dry stare again. "What? What do you want from me if you don't want my scroll? I could have handled those Grass Ninja on my own. Or did you not know that?" He asked moodily.

Biting her lip, Temari looked away thoughtfully. She was trying to approach something very carefully but then decided against it. She just shook her head as she looked kindly back at Gaara. "We don't want your scroll. We helped you because...well, just because we wanted to." She said trying to smile at him. But it was forced.

Still very suspicious, Gaara tilted his head to the side while still staring at her before he looked away again. He just turned his attention back onto his gourd. However, he could still feel their eyes on him. So rather annoyed, he looked back at them. "What? Why are you staring at me?" He asked, almost snappishly. "And where's your partner, Tobi? Are you trying to distract me while he's sneaking up on me or something?"

The two siblings didn't seem phased at all by his temper. They just glanced at one another with a wince but then looked back at him. "No. Tobi's...we kind of ditched him for a little while. He was driving us nuts. The guy really doesn't know how to shut up when on a mission. It just surprises me we've even managed to get any missions done with him around." Kankuro said a little dryly.

"No, actually..." Temari picked up after that remark as she tilted her head, looking him over. "...We're just a little amazed that's all."

Gaara frowned at her as he folded his arms and gave her a very dry stare. He had no idea what she was talking about. And why was she staring at him like that? She had this look as if she was surprised about something, or as if she knew him. He highly doubted that she did though. "Really? What would be so amazing about me?" He asked darkly.

It was again Kankuro's turn to reply. He just tilted his head to the side while looking Gaara over, and ignoring the savage look he got for it. "It's nothing really." He then shook his head. "It's just...it's amazing how you look so much like him. I know I'm a spitting image of him but seriously, you definitely have his face."

Blinking in mild surprise and suspicion, Gaara dipped his head down, looking very confused. He was now starting to feel a little uneasy about this. He had no idea what this guy was talking about but he didn't like it. Temari read the look well because she gave him a sad look and a sigh to match it. She then made to approach him, though very carefully. She motioned to the log beside Gaara, almost asking if it was all right if she sat down next to him. Slowly, the red head nodded and she sat down. "Gaara...can I ask you a very serious and personal question?" She asked carefully. She saw him shrug and nod at the same time. "Who are your parents?"

The question Gaara by surprise. He looked right at her with alarm but then he shook his head slowly. "My parents? I don't have any parents. My mother was killed a long time ago by bandits but I never knew my father." His eyes narrowed in suspicion at her. "Why do you ask?" He asked showing his suspicion.

There was a long pause as the two siblings stared at Gaara then glanced at one another. Temari looked rather nervous about saying what was on her mind. She looked like she was about to have a panic attack. But Kankuro just frowned at her and folded his arms. "Tell him, Temari. Or I will." He said seriously. "We already agreed that we would."

"What is going on?" Gaara demanded quietly.

With a shaky breath, Temari closed her eyes and stayed that way for a brief moment then she turned to face him, her trembling hands folding into one another. "Gaara..." She began carefully. "We...we know who you are. Whe know where you are really from and we know...we know what is sealed inside you."

The world turned very cold for Gaara, or that's what it felt like. He felt as if his entire body just turned into a block of ice as he stared wide eyed at the blonde Kunoichi. He could hardly think after hearing those words. What did she mean she and Kankuro knew who he was and where he was from? And what in the hell did she mean that she knew WHAT was inside him?! He slowly shook his head as he slowly stood up and faced her. "Wh-what? What are you talking about?" He asked.

"...I'm talking about Shukaku, Gaara." Temari said as she looked directly into teal eyes.

Again, Gaara felt his body freeze. He couldn't move and his lungs felt like they also had just been frozen. He could hardly breathe as he just looked into her deep green eyes. He slowly shook his head as he thought about what she just said. How in the hell did she know about Shukaku?! No one knew about Shukaku! No one but the Hokage, Kakashi, Jiraiya and a even Iruka! Not even his best friend, Naruto knew about his own demon. So how did she know?! "Ho-how did you know about him?!" He asked uneasily.

Slowly the siblings shook their head as they watched his eyes dash from one to the other while backing up a few steps. They knew he was a little uneasy right now and they seriously didn't blame him. They felt just as uneasy about telling him the truth. But he needed to know it. He needed to know who they were.

So with a deep sigh, Kankuro shook his head with sad look in his dark eyes. "Gaara, it's not easy to say it. But we'll just say it anyways." He paused as he folded his arms again. "...Gaara, you are our younger brother. We're your older brother and sister." He announced.

There was a very long silence between the three as they just stared at one or the other. Gaara could almost hear crickets chirping as he just stared at them with alarm. He was surprised on how quiet it had gotten. He couldn't even hear the birds anymore. He just stared at the two as if they had just grown a second head and was dancing in front of him. This had to be some kind of joke. It just had to be. These two...they were his older brother and sister? That was impossible.

So choosing not to believe them, Gaara's eyes grew very dark before he grabbed his gourd and turned sharply away. He called all of his sand back into it and took a step to walk away. He caught a glimpse of surprise on their faces as he turned his back onto them. "Ha, ha. Very funny. You two a riot." He said savagely as he started walking. Temari quickly stood up and grabbed his arm, holding him back. She ignored him as he jerked back around and glared at her for even touching him. She just looked right into his eyes with shock and fear. "Gaara! It's the truth! You were born from our mother, Karura and our father, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure! You are the youngest of us! You are our brother!" She told him quickly.

Gaara yanked his arm away from her and glared viciously at her. He didn't believe her for a second. Why should he? Where was the proof? He believed that this was just a hoax the Sand Shinobi were playing just to get his team's scroll and even make a fool out of him. "Stop it. I don't believe you. I was abandoned on a river by my mother before she was killed in the Konoha woods and then taken in by the Legendary Sanin, Jiraiya! I don't know how you know about Shukaku but I've heard enough!" He said sharply before turning to walk away.

But Kankuro quickly rushed forward and blocked his path, shaking his head. "No! You haven't heard enough, Gaara! How is it that we know about Shukaku?! How is it we know your name?!" He then jabbed his finger towards Temari. "It wasn't mother who put you on the river to be freed from the Akatsuki! It was Temari! She's the one who saved you!" He shot at the younger Genin.

Gaara paused when he heard the word Akatsuki but chose that he wouldn't listen. He didn't want to listen. He just shoved past Kankuro, storming towards the tree line. But he had to stop again when Temari grabbed his hand, holding him in place. "Gaara, mother died protecting you from the Akatsuki! She was killed by the Ninja in black and red!" She told him quickly.

That got Gaara's attention. He stopped trying to pull away from her and stared wide eyed off into the trees.

Slowly, Temari nodded. She knew that it had caught his attention. She knew that he was going to listen again. She carefully walked around Gaara, looking down into his eyes, seeing that she was a little taller than him. She had such sorrow and pain in her eyes as she met his teal eyes with hers. "Mother wanted to save you, Gaara. She tried to escape them with us into the Fire Country. It was Itachi Uchiha that killed her." she saw him tense at the name but she chose not to react too much to it.

Gaara slowly shook his head as he took a few unsteady steps away from her. He could feel his heart pounding hard against his chest. So hard that it hurt. He lift a shaky hand and placed it across his heart, trying to slow it down. He didn't want to believe her.

Temari seemed to know that because she sighed softly before she began to hum a lullibye. A strange lullibye that he had heard before. It was a song that haunted his little memories and had heard the demon inside him hum it a few times. And now, Temari was humming it as if she had heard it a thousand times. Looking him right in the eye, she shook her head at him. "Little brother, you're safe now and safe may you stay. For I have a prayer just for you." She spoke softly. "Stay safe, grow up someday and come back to Suna to free us. I swear it, I will come find you again."

And Gaara did remember those words. He remembered hearing them in his dreams whenever he did sleep. He just stared right into Temari's eyes, though they flickered over to Kankuro as he moved forward to stand right next to his older sister. They just looked at him through sad eyes but there was truth in them. They knew that this was hard for him to believe. He had lived all his life in Konoha, thinking that he was one of the Leaf People. But now, he was learning his deepest darkest secret that he had been waiting for Jiraiya to tell him.

"Gaara...you are our little brother. You are of noble blood. You are the youngest son of the Kazekage." Kankuro spoke in a low voice. "The Akatsuki killed our mother to get a hold of you to extract Shukaku from your body."

There was a long pause before Gaara's eyes flickered off to the side, as if he was seeking out Shukaku. And he was. 'Shu-Shukaku?' He asked the demon uneasily.

'...' The demon hummed, sounding forlorn but then he felt the demon nod. 'They're telling the truth. You are the son of the Fourth Kazekage. And it was the Akatsuki who killed your mother while she was trying to escape with us. They are who they say they are.'

Still stunned by the news, Gaara slowly shook his head and stepped back away from the two siblings. He couldn't believe this. After all these years of thinking that he was from Konoha Village. He wasn't. He was a foreigner after all. He was from the Wind Country, from the Hidden Village in the Sand. This explained why he used Sand Clones instead of just regular clones like the others. Unable to bear it any longer, Gaara took a few more steps away from the siblings, his siblings, before spinning around and running away from them. He heard Temari cry after him and he was sure they were running after him but he didn't stop. When he felt as if they got too close, he threw his hands together into a hand sign and used his sand teleportation jutsu. He vanished within a cloud of sand before they could even stop him.

For a long time, Gaara ran through the trees, almost blindly. He didn't stop as he just ran everything through his mind that Temari and Kankuro just told him. He felt like he was in a state of shock after finding out who they were. And after having it confirmed by his own demon, he knew it was true. He felt the demon telling him the truth.

But then again, demons really didn't lie.

After a long time of running and then realizing it was now after dark, Gaara decided to stop for the night. He knew it wasn't smart running through a forest like he was anyway. There was a good chance that someone would hear him coming and think that it was an enemy. He didn't want to fight anyone right now. He was too distracted right now. He still wondered though. Was his father really the Kazekage of the Sand Village? Didn't Kakashi say that there was no Kage there right this moment though? Did that mean that the Akatsuki kill him too like they did his mother? And who the hell was the Akatsuki?!

The biggest question that he had running through his mind was, did Jiraiya know this?

Finally deciding to stop to think, Gaara sat down against a tree with his gourd propped up against it beside him. He just curled up into a fetal position and wrapped his pale arms around his knees, burying his head into them. He knew he should probably try and search for his teammates. They would probably be searching for him too. Though, they might be stopping for the night. It was getting pretty late. What happened to them? Were they okay? He just couldn't think straight right now. He was too confused. Too many thoughts and images were going through his head that it even bothered Shukaku. The demon was grumbling but he hadn't complained yet.

'Why didn't you tell me, Jiraiya?' Gaara thought after awhile as he lift his head and stared off into the darkness. 'Why couldn't you just tell me the truth?'

'The human probably thought you weren't ready to know the truth. Or thought you would have tried to go off and get your revenge on the Akatsuki. You weak humans have a knack for doing that.'

"Shut up, Shukaku!" growled the young Genin. He wasn't in the mood for the demon at the moment. He just wanted silence. And deciding to give him that, the demon shut up. He didn't say anything for a long time.

Gaara was quiet for almost an hour trying to think. He was trying to sort out his thoughts, trying to come up with conclusions that maybe Temari and Kankuro were mistaken. He couldn't really come up with anyway. After being an orphan for all his life, not knowing his true identity for so long, he knew that they must have been telling the truth. After all, Temari had known Shukaku's lullaby.

After another long hour of thinking too much, Gaara turned his attention onto the gourd, trying to decide what to do with it. It wasn't going to do him very good carrying it around if it was going to be broken. He needed a new one. But what to use to carry all of his sand in? It was completely ruined. Disgusted with it, he shoved it away from him and rested his chin onto his arms again.

'Why don't you just make a new gourd out of sand, brat? You have the power to do it. That way, you can carry my sand around and use it?'

Gaara made a face at the thought but chose to ignore him. His teal eyes glanced off into the darkness. He wasn't in the mood to converse with the demon. He wished it was the full moon so he could get some sleep. But right now it wasn't. The full moon wasn't until a few more nights. At least in six days. He had to wait.

And that's when he saw the fiery red eye staring out at him from the darkness.

Gaara's body froze with alarm as he looked right at the fiery orb gleaming at him. He didn't know who that was but it was no doubt a Sharingan. Was it Kakashi? No, it couldn't be. Kakashi's left eye was the Sharingan. This one was the right eye. Still, this presented a problem. He was looking at a Sharingan. He felt the pain in his head now, the storms starting to stir up inside. Shukaku was now growling with excitement. And the young red head was now starting to feel tired. His eyes were drooping.

"Let's see exactly how good your demon really is, sand boy." Came a very deep and monotonous voice within the darkness. And then Gaara felt himself drift into the pit of dark sleep.

Throughout his dreams, he saw many things. He saw himself stand up. But it wasn't him. It looked like him but he knew it wasn't him. He felt his head turn when he saw movement only to see someone in black walking towards him. The man's, no doubt that it was a man, face was shrouded in the darkness. He couldn't see who it was. Another wave of shadows swirled around him as he lost his vision again before he saw another dream. He saw his hands waving back and forth, swirling his sand together and creating something. It took a minute before he saw that his sand was becoming a gourd completely made out of sand.

Then he began moving through the trees, though he couldn't see so clearly. He could hear Shukaku cackling in glee for he was in control now. He wasn't alone. The man in black was running along side him.

Then he blacked out.

Another image appeared before him and he found himself facing three Ninja; three Rain Ninja. None of them were the Ninja that he had fought with his teammates but still, he could feel the thirst for blood. Shukaku was grinning insanely with Gaara's face as he eyed the three, who were demanding for his scroll. He watched in horror as the demon fought the leader of the three, using his sand. The Rain Ninja tried to make it rain needles but with the sand, Shukaku created a sand shield all around him.

Smirking coldly, the demon let the sand shield open up a little so to look right at the horrified Rain Ninja. "Is that all you have?" He spoke darkly before he shot his hand forward. "Sand Coffin."

The sand shot forward, hitting the Rain Ninja and wrapping around his body and lifting him high into the air. The sandy prison rose higher and higher until he was a fair fifty feet above him. Then the demon in Gaara's body walked forward, grabbing one of the Rain Ninja's umbrellas. "So you like to make it rain needles, hmm? Well, I like to make it rain blood." He said dangerously happily before he rose his hand and crushed his hand into a fist. There was an explosion within the and blood began to pour from the dark sky. The sand only soaked up the blood before shooting towards the other two Rain ninja and doing the same to them. They only screamed in horror as they too were crushed into nothing.

However, as Gaara watched as Shukaku suck the blood up into his sand, he felt fear in the air. And it wasn't just because of the Rain ninja that the demon just killed. Even the demon sensed it. Turning his head slightly to the side, Gaara saw three horrified faces peering out at him from the bushes. He saw Kiba, Hinata and Shino watching him before they quickly ducked down. With a smirk, Shukaku curled Gaara's lips into a cool smirk. "Who's dangerous now, Inuzuka?" He asked in a low voice before raising a hand towards the terrified three.

'No!' Gaara shouted within his dreams. 'Don't hurt them!'

The sand demon stopped when he heard the boy within. He was still for a long moment before he shrugged and called all of the sand back into the sand made gourd. "Like it or not, boy, this is who you are. Accept it. Embrace it. This is what you are. You are a monster, just like me. Your friends will never understand. Not even the Kyuubi boy. And you don't see him losing control like you. Face it. You are me."

Then it was completely silent and Gaara returned to his dreamless sleep, believing it was all a dream.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

The morning's light finally touched Gaara's face and he squinted a little before turning his head to cover his head with his arm. He laid there for a moment before he realized how cold his arm felt, and how damp. It felt wet for some reason. Frowning, Gaara rose his arm off of his face and looked above him. The sky was full of the morning's light and there were high tree tops high above him. But when his eyes flickered over to his arm, he felt his entire being freeze.

There was blood all over him.

Gaara shot up to a sitting position, looking at his arm for any injuries. His breath was caught in his chest as he noticed that there was blood all over his body. He was practically bathed in it. He quickly began checking himself for injuries but frowned even more when he found none. Then his eyes caught sight of the gourd sitting right beside him. He frowned deeply before reaching out to it and touching the side, only to yank his hand back as if it had burned him. The gourd was made completely out of sand.

"!" Gaara's breathing quickened before he spotted a blood stained scroll sitting right beside it. It was the other scroll that Team 7 needed to pass the exam. Frowning, he climbed to his feet and looked around only to see dried blood every where. There were even a few remains of Ninja bodies. "…..No….." He whispered in horror before looking at the sand gourd again. "Shukaku! What did you do?!" He demanded out loud.

'He, he, he. You fell asleep the night before. Use your imagination. I wanted blood and you wouldn't give it to me. So I took it.' The demon growled with dark amusement.

Gaara felt a shiver run through his body as his breath caught sharply in his chest. He felt sick now. He could see the memories running through his mind now. He had seen it all. He had seen Shukaku murder, no massacre several teams. None of them were Konoha teams but still…..the demon had killed in his body! "H-how could you do that?! This…..this is n-not what I wanted! And what do you mean the other night?! How long have you been in control?!" He demanded.

'Hmm. For about two days now. I've been having so much fun in your body, weak human boy.'

Gaara swallowed hard when he tasted bile in his mouth. He was cursing the demon within his mind. He hated the demon so much. He wished that there was some way that he could just reach inside his body and rip the demented, blood thirsty demon from his body. "Shukaku! I can't...!" He ended his sentence with a nasty curse on his tongue.

Suddenly, from the distance, he heard a blood curling scream. It made him jerk around in alarm before fanning out his Chakra to see if he could find out who it was. There was another scream and he knew who it belonged to. It was Sakura's scream. She was nearby. At least a mile away. Frowning, Gaara snatched up the sand gourd and the scroll, stuffing it inside before bolting through the trees. He ran as fast as he could through the tree branches, keeping his eyes forward. He had to find Sakura before something bad happened to her. If it hadn't already happened to her. He hoped that she, Naruto and Sasuke were all right. If they weren't, he would get his sweet revenge on those who caused them harm.

Finally he found them.

Gaara came to a sudden halt on a high tree branch and looked down into the clearing. His teal eyes quickly took in the scene before him. His teammates were engaged in a fight with the Sound Ninja, the three from the exam. Sakura was knelt beside an out cold Rock Lee while looking over at Sasuke with horror as he had the tall thin one, Zaku's arms yanked backward. It looked like he was tearing them off. The Sound Ninja, Zaku was screaming in pain while there was a sick grin on Sasuke's face. But that wasn't all that bothered Gaara. There were strange black markings swirling on his skin, as well as dark purple light swirling around him. This was not the Sasuke Gaara remembered.

Naruto was lying on the ground somewhere close by where Choji, Shikamaru and Ino were standing. And on another tree branch, Neji Hyuga and Tenten were standing there watching with a look of horror on their faces.

But when Gaara appeared out of nowhere, Neji's white eyes jerked upward and met the red head's cold teal ones. Gaara just gave Neji a hard look before looking to see Sasuke suddenly drop Zaku to the ground while the hunched over Sound Ninja was now charging at him, looking something murderous.

Suddenly, he came to a screeching halt just as a wall of sand shot right between him and Sasuke.

All eyes jerked upward to see Gaara standing on the tree branch, his arms folded tightly over his chest and there was a menacing look in his eyes. He didn't even look at Sakura when she cried out in happiness for him. He just gave the Sound Ninja a very dangerous look, daring him to continue to fight. "Leave now and I won't kill you." The red head said savagely. Sakura's smile was now gone. And Sasuke even frowned. They knew something was seriously wrong with Gaara. They had never heard him talk like that before. It was something they were not used to at all. "Gaara." The pink haired girl whispered with concern.

The Sound Ninja, Dosu just backed up a step, noting the danger in the air. He knew that it was time for him to leave. So he just held up his hands in surrender. "Please. Allow me to gather my team then." He said, looking right up at the red head.

There was a long pause before Gaara pulled back the sand, though kept it swirling around them as he watched the ninja walk cautiously over to his teammate and helped him with two broken arms hanging uselessly at his sides. He then back up more till he reached his other companion, Kin and picked up her unconscious form. Then he was gone.

There was a very long silence as no one chose to move or say anything. Gaara just called back his sand into his new sand gourd before he held up a hand and teleported to the ground beside Naruto. His eyes flickered over as Sakura rushed towards him, looking very worried. "Gaara! You're okay! I mean, you are all right, right?" She asked, sounding concerned. His eyes noted on how short her hair had gotten since the last time he saw her. So something bad had happened. Shaking his head, he looked back down at Naruto. "What happened to Naruto?" He asked emotionlessly.

Sakura froze in her foot steps, as did everyone else. Sasuke just frowned as the black marks vanished on his skin but then walked over to stand with Gaara. "Gaara, are you okay? We….we were so worried about you. We searched everywhere for you. And then…."

"What happened to Naruto, Sakura?" Gaara repeated coldly.

The pink haired girl stepped back in alarm but then threw out a hand to stop Ino when she moved forward to yell at the red head for talking to her like that. She just shook her head at her blonde friend, telling her silently that it wasn't a good idea. Instead, she moved closer and bent down beside Gaara, looking at him. "He's…he's just out cold. It was Grass Ninja from the beginning of the Second Exam. When we were separated, it was just me and Sasuke. Naruto had disappeared like you had. He demanded us for the scroll and didn't believe us when we told him that we didn't have it. He fought with Sasuke and hurt him really bad. Naruto showed up and then he got hurt too. The Ninja bit Sasuke on the neck and he was sick for a two days. I don't even know what he did to Naruto but whatever it was, it knocked him out." She told him.

Gaara took the information before he glanced over at Sasuke, who was watching him carefully. He seemed to have realized something about the red head that was different. "Aren't you going to ask me for the code word?" The sand controller asked, dryly.

"No." Sasuke said simply. "I know it's you. No one else can control sand. So it's not even worth it. What happened to you when we were separated?"

Gaara just shook his head as he looked away. He did not want to talk to him about it. He did not want his teammates to know that Shukaku had murdered several rivaling ninja just because of his thirst for blood. "Nothing." He said coolly before turning his attention back onto Naruto. He stared at his blonde friend for a long time before he stood up and went off to the side, as if to watch guard. Lee had come around again. Sakura hurried over to check on him, a light smile on her face as she helped him sit up. "Lee, are you feeling any better?" She asked softly. Lee blinked a few times before he looked up at her and smile. "I'll be fine, as long as you will be okay." He told her. Sakura just smiled as she ran her fingers through her now short hair then looked up at Ino as she moved forward.

"Hey, billboard brow. If you want, I can even the tips for you." She said. Sakura smirked up at her as her eyes flickered over to Sasuke then nodded. "Thank you, Ino-pig. That would be so nice of you." She said before sitting in front of the blonde. Her eyes flickered over to Gaara, who was sitting by himself, glaring off into the trees. She was a little worried about him. She knew something had happened that made him this grouchy. Something really bad.

Almost a half an hour later, Naruto had woken up and was not in a good mood. He had been surprised to see Lee's team and Ino's team there with them and very delighted to see Gaara back and okay. Then he jumped forward and started to tell Gaara bout how some weird guy named Orochimaru attacked them and how he escaped from getting eaten by a giant snake. Then he helped fight off Orochimaru, only to get punched by Sakura when he started lying about how he beat the tall, thinman in the fight.

Gaara wasn't really listening anyway. His eyes were still gazing off, looking rather savage about what had happened during the past two days. The others noticed when Naruto didn't. But after a while, the other teams took off not wanting to stick around and wait for Team 7 to get moving around again.

"Gaara, did something happen?" Sakura asked once the four teammates were alone.

The red head blinked out his thoughts and lookd over at her. He saw how worried the three were looking at him. He knew they wanted to know what happened to him and wondered why he was in such a grumpy mood. But he did not want them to know. Not yet. "Don't worry about me." He said quietly now looking away.

The other three just frowned at that but then Sakura stood up and moved closer. She wanted to know and she wasn't going to give it up. "But, Gaara, what happened…" She was saying.

Gaara looked up at her with a dry look in his eyes. He thought it was best if she dropped the subject now. "I said," He said slowly but it was a warning. "Don't worry about me." He then held out a hand just as a string of sand swirled out of his sand gourd and dropped the two scrolls into his hand. "Here. We now have both scrolls. Now let's go." He said cooly as he tossed them to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Gaara!" Naruto began, wanting to try and get his best friend to talk.

But Sasuke quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back with a shake of his head. "Naruto, don't. Sakura, leave him alone. Obviously, something did happen and he doesn't want to talk about it. Keep pushing him and you'll only piss him off. Remember what happened with those two Mist Ninja, the Demon Brothers? And what happened with Zabuza and Haku?" He nodded when the two froze with alarm. "Yeah. So just leave him alone. We got the scrolls so let's go. The only thing we need to worry about is getting to the center of the forest and without running into trouble." He told them. Naruto pouted a little but he knew that Sasuke had a point. He knew Gaara wanted to be left alone. So he would leave it there for now.

The four members of Team 7 walked in silence through the forest, with the feeling of confusion in the air. It was more than Naruto could stand. He really wanted to know what was wrong with his best friend. But every time he tried to speak to the red head about it, Sasuke would stop him and shake his head.

Another night passed while Gaara stayed up all night to guard the camp. He didn't say anything as he tried to think about everything that had happened throughout the entire exam. He was still confused about what Temari and Kankuro had told him. He felt extremely confused. And who were these Akatsuki? He would have to ask Jiraiya about them. He must have known about these people.

The next morning, they reached the tower with only one more day to go. They hadn't run into too much trouble and that was relieving. But still, there was a lot of tension in the air. Especially when they had arrived the very minute that Team Kurenai had. The very minute that Team 7 walked through the doors of the tower, all three Kiba, Hinata and Shino gave Gaara a very uneasy look. They obviously remembered what Gaara had done to the Rain Ninja and were too nervous of him. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura caught them glancing at their red haired team mate with uneasiness and even glanced at their teammate to see what his reaction was. Gaara only looked away with a strange look on his face. He knew why they were looking at him fear like that. And he seriously could not blame them for it.

They were finally allowed to open the scrolls, though Gaara really had no interest in what might happen. He was still too troubled in his thoughts to care. But when they did open the scrolls, it was Iruka who came out of them. He explained to them that the scrolls were actually a summoning scroll that they had to open once they reached the tower. Gaara didn't listen to him at all though. He just kept his eyes adverted from the Chuunin while thinking to himself. He explained to them that the next exam would take place the next day and it would be explained then. So all they had to do was rest up and gain their strength back.

So Team 7 rested for the night.

The next day, they were called into a large arena where the rest of the Konoha rookies were while with a few of the other teams. The Sand Ninja were there, Temari, Kankuro and Tobi as well as the three Sound Ninja. Gaara didn't care of the other teams. He glanced over at his so called Siblings and saw that they were looking back at him with a sad look in their eyes. It was no doubt that they really wanted to go over and talk to him about what they had told him. The only thing that held them back was their teammate, Tobi.

However, the red head then looked around the room and found a large group of Jounin Instructors and ANBU standing with the Hokage at the front. They were all looking everyone over, some not looking pleased and some were smiling at the Genin who made it through the second exam. Kakashi was standing right next to Gai, whom Gaara immediately looked away from. He didn't want to meet that guy's eyes and have him become excited to see him again. He was actually looking for Jiraiya, hoping that he was there too. But to his disappointment, the white haired Sanin wasn't around. So Gaara turned his attention to the front onto the Hokage.

"First off, the Second test!" The Hokage spoke up. "Congratulations on passing!"

There was a brief pause as everyone looked around. Gaara took the chance to look the Jounin and ANBU over, and he spotted a very unusual ninja in the back that he did not seem to like. It was a Jounin for the Sound Team but something kind of familiar about him. Especially about the way he was looking right back at the red head. He did not seem pleased about something. It was like he was not happy to see him alive or even there. Gaara returned the dark look he was getting from the Sound Ninja but then his eyes flickered over to the Ninja standing next to him. A man who was looking at him, yet seemed very surprised to see him. This one, however, was a Sand Ninja. He had short dirty blonde hair and deep gray eyes, lit up from surprise. He was rather handsome in a way. A little young, probably older than Kakashi by five or six years. He was wearing the Sand Ninja outfit of a Jounin while his Sand forehead protector was tied around his forehead. He was looking at Gaara the same way that Temari and Kankuro had when they first saw him. 'Don't tell me he knows me too.' He growled to himself. But then again, something did seem a little familiar about him. He kind of looked like Temari in a way.

"Wow! Wow!" Naruto suddenly spoke up with excitement. "Old man Hokage, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi and even super brows is here! It's like everyone is assembled!"

Gaara didn't share his enthusiasm though. He had wanted Jiraiya to be there too. But unfortunately he wasn't. His teal eyes flickered over to Sasuke when he snorted and started rubbing his neck as if it was giving him a little pain. "Heh, I can't say that I'm getting a good feeling." He muttered. Gaara could only nod in agreement.

"Master Hokage will now explain the third test!" Anko bellowed. "Listen carefully!" Then she motioned to the old man. "Now, Master Hokage, please."

The 3rd Hokage just nodded as he gave her a nod. "Yes." Then he turned his attention back onto the Genin standing before them. "For the coming third test, but before I explain that, there is something I'd like you to know. It concerns the true reason for this exam." That just made several people frown, including Gaara. He wasn't sure what the old man was trying to say. "Why do we have all the allianced countries taking the exam together?" The old man asked, once again surprising everyone. "To promote friendship among the countries. To raise the level of Shinobi. I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning. This exam is..." The Hokage paused, his eyes becoming very serious. "A replacement for war among the allied countries."

There were were a few murmurs within the Genin. Gaara just frowned as he tilted his head to the side, but then straightened again.

"If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the state that these countries chose for battle, that is the origins of this Chuunin exam." The Hokage tried to explain.

In a way, Gaara understood what he was trying to get at. He realized that the Hokage was trying to tell them that the exam was to put young Shinobi against each other to keep a war from breaking out between the countries. Even though there was some hatred between each countries, they were trying to avoid too much blood shed. It confused Naruto though. "Why the hell do we have to do that crap?! Isn't this thing for deciding who's a Chuunin?!" The blonde asked in aggravation.

The Hokade nodded as he blew out some smoke from his pipe then looked around at everyone in the room. "It is a fact that this exam decides which Shinobi have what it takes to become a Chuunin. But on the other hand, this exam has another side. " He tried to explain. "Where each countries Shinobis risks their own life to protect their land's prestige."

"Prestige?" Ino spoke up in confusion.

"Watching this third exam will be leaders and influencial individuals from many countries who make up the clients of the Shinobi. And the Leaders of the countries will also be there to watch each of your battles. If the strength of a country is clear, that country will recieve more clients. And conversely, if seen as weak, they will lose clients." The Third Hokage said as he pulled out his pipe again. "And this will signal to potentional enemy countries that "Our Village has this much power." So it will send a political message to outsiders."

Now Kiba seemed aggravated now. "Yeah, but why?! Why do we have to risk our lives in battle?!" He demanded to know.

There was a brief silence before the Hokage shook his head. "The strength of the country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the Shinobi. And a Shinobi's true strength is born only through life risking battles." He continued to drone on but Gaara just wasn't interested into listening to the entire thing. He was actually starting to get bored. But as soon as he was drawing close to explaining the exam, someone interupted.

"Actually...cough, cough!" The interuptor spoke up as he sudden appeared right before the Hokage, surprising many. "From here on, as the referee, will you please allow me, Hayate Gekkou..."

The Hokage just nodded. "By all means." He said simply.

The strange Shinobi just nodded as he rose to his full hieght but kept his back onto the Genin. He just coughed into his hand, as if he wasn't feeling well at all. "Hello, everyone. I'm Hayate." He then turned around to let them see what he looked liked. And truth be told, he did not look so good at all. His skin was slightly pale and he had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was dark brown and cut to his shoulders and he was a Leaf Shinobi. Still, he looked very sick. Gaara wondered if it was a good idea that he was in charge of the exams. "Umm...Before the third test, there's something I'd like you to do." The sick Shinobi began. "Umm...It's a preliminary for the third test to decide who gets to participate in the main event."

Everyone was surprised to hear that. Gaara just felt extremely agitated. He knew very well what this guy was talking about. His eyes flickered over to his pink haired teammate next to him. "Preminary?" She asked as if a little clueless though he knew better. She was just confused of why they were doing a preliminary.

Then he glanced over at Shikamaru when he heard him speak. "Preliminary?! What do you mean?" He asked with annoyance. Sakura shook her head as she looked up the sick Shinobi. "Sir, I don't understand this preliminary. But why aren't all the people here allowed to participate in the next test?" She asked, frowning.

"Umm...Because the first and second test may have been too easy this year. We have a bit too many people remaining." Hayate told them, then coughed into his hand. "According to Chuunin exam rules, we must have a preliminary and reduce the number of participants for the third test. As Master Hokage indicated earlier, there will be many guests at the third test. So the fights could take too long, we are limited in time. So anyway, those who are not feeling well, those who feel like quiting after these explanations, please come forward now." He told them. "Since we will be starting the preliminary immediately."

There was a long pause as several of the Genin glanced at one another, waiting for someone to give up. Gaara just folded his arms, stubbornly. He was not going to give up at all. He wanted to be in this and he knew for a fact that all of his teammates wouldn't give up either.

"I'm going to quit." came a familiar voice.

Gaara turned his head to see the gray haired Leaf Genin, Kabuto raise his hand. The very second he did, Naruto gasped out his name. The sick Shinobi just looked at his clipboard before having to cough into his other hand. He just shook his head as he looked up at Kabuto again. "Umm. You're Kabuto Yakushi from the Leaf, right?" He asked before shrugging. "You may leave now. Does anyone else want to retire? Oh, I fogot to tell you that from now on it will be individual battling. You may raise yoiur hand based on your own judgement."

Naruto didn't seem to want Kabuto to give up though. He jumped forward, looking at him in alarm. "Kabuto! Why are you quitting?! Why?!" He yelled. Gaara just gave his friend an annoyed look but didn't say anything. He knew that quitting was way against Naruto's standards. He hated to quit and he didn't like it when others quit too. Kabuto, on the other hand, just smiled faintly at him before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but my body is all beat up. Actually I haven't been able to hear out of my left ear from the time when I got attacked by the Sound Ninja before the first test." He told him with a shrug. "And now we'll have to risk our lives...I just..." He couldn't finish.

Naruto just lowered his head as if it was him who had to drop out. He didn't look happy at all at the news. Gaara just merely glanced at his blonde before turning his attention forward when he heard Anko muttering something to the Hokage. She was frowning as she discussed Kabuto's history. But then he glanced back at Kabuto as he was already walking away.

"Ugh."

Gaara's head jerked around to see Sasuke touching his neck again. He frowned when he saw that he was in some pain but it must have been the bite that Orochimaru guy had given him. His eyes flickered over to Sakura who was looking very worried.

"Umm, now, there are no more retiring right?" Hayate asked.

No one spoke up but Gaara wasn't really looking at the others. His eyes were also on Sasuke while Sakura glanced quickly between Sasuke and the Jounin. She looked rather panicky but then she looked right at Sasuke. "Sasuke! You should also quit this preliminary." She suddenly told him. The look that Sasuke gave her was nasty enough and Gaara didn't like the way he looked at her but he couldn't blame him either for when she suggested that. "You have been strange since that Orochimaru guy attacked you. That mark still hurts, right?" Sakura asked with worry. "If you continue..."

Gaara was frowning just like Naruto. What mark was she talking about? What exactly happened since his absense in the forest? Sasuke was still giving her a nasty look but then he blinked when tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Please..." The pink haired girl begged. "Please quit...I'm afraid..." She then dropped her hand. "You are in no condition to fight right now." Again she got a nasty look from Sasuke again. "I can see it! You have been hiding the pain all this time!"

"Be quiet." Sasuke hissed nastily.

Gaara shot the raven haired boy a dark look for how he was treating Sakura. She was just concerned for him. Could he not see that? Sakura just shook her head as she returned the look that Sasuke gave her. "Whatever you say...I'm going to tell them about that mark." She said before turning and staring to raise her hand.

But Sasuke grabbed her arm roughly and pulled it back down again. "Shut up about this mark." He said warningly, giving her a stern look as he continued to hold his neck.

Sakura just frowned at him. "Why are you so stubborn?! I don't want to see you suffering anymore. To me you are..." She was saying.

Sasuke just glared at her. "This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of my business." He told her sharply. "Sakura...I have told you before. I am an avenger. This isn't just a test to me. I don't care about Chuunin or whatever." He shook his head. "Am I strong? I just want the answer to that. To just fight strong guys here. And they are here. I can't forgive even you if you take that away from me."

Both Naruto and Gaara glared at Sasuke for his cool words to Sakura. They both didn't like the way he talked to her. The blonde reacted though. "You jerk! Stop acting all cool! Sakura is this worried and..." He was saying.

"Naruto, I also want to fight you." Sasuke interrupted. His eyes just stared right into the blonde's who was now surprised. After a second, he slapped a hand over his neck, wincing. Gaara just shook his head as gave Sasuke a very dry stare. He couldn't help but overhear an argument breaking out between some of the Jounin though. He glanced over to see Anko now snapping quietly at Kakashi. Apparently she had seen what was going on with Sasuke and she was requesting that they took him out. Of course, Kakashi would stand up for his student. The Hokage was also eyeing them with a frown but then shook his head as he met Hayate's eyes and had a quiet word with him.

The Shinobi just nodded before looking forward at the Genin. "Since no one else wants to drop out, I'm afraid that we're going to have to pull one person out on our own." He announced.

Gaara saw Sasuke's head jerk upward and he was glaring at the Ninja, daring him to take him out of the Preliminary. He knew how he'd felt though. He knew that it wasn't fair to anyone that someone was just pulled out just because of stubborness. They knew that it would be Sasuke who was pulled out.

As if he read the red haired Genin's mind, Hayate shook his head as he rest a hand onto his waist. "Unfortunately, if anyone looks around and counts the numbers of the Shinobi here, the number is uneven. There are too many in this Preliminary. So therefore, Team 7 of the Leaf..." He said, pointing at them. All four looked wide eyed at him. Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously at him, before they widened in realization. Hayate was not pointing at him. He was pointing at Gaara. "I'm afraid one of your teammates will have to surrender this year's exam. Therefore, Gaa..." He was saying.

"Actually," came a cheerful voice, breaking into the Shinobi's sentence. All heads turned to see the Sand Ninja, Tobi raise his hand and move forward. "I'm really not feeling my best either, like Kabuto-san! So therefore, to even the odds, Tobi shall give up this year."

There were quite a few startled looks on everyone's faces as they looked at the masked Sand Ninja. Genin and Jounin alike were looking at him in alarm. Gaara frowned as he looked from the masked ninja over to Temari and Kankuro. They were actually eyeing their teammate with suspicion. So they hadn't been expecting this at all. What made it more suspicious was on how Tobi was giving up when he looked just fine to begin with. He didn't even seem to have a scratch on him.

"Oh!" Hayate said in surprise as he lowered his hand a little. He glanced over at the Hokage, who was frowning but then he looked at the masked Sand Ninja. "Are you sure you want to be pulling out, erm..." He paused to glance at his clipboard and frowned at something he saw. "Tobi-san?" he asked looking back at the masked ninja who was still trying to push through the Genin.

Tobi only nodded as he managed to get past Kiba and Shino and then ended up tripping over his own two feet and fall flat on his face. Many of the Genin winced or gasped while Gaara saw Temari and Kankuro's faces fall as a big sweat drop starting rolling down the side of their face. He felt himself smirk before looking at Tobi again, who was helped to his feet by Kiba and was actually laughing about it. "Ha, ha! Clutzy of Tobi!" He laughed merrily and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Are you all right?" The Hokage asked in little concern as he tilted his head to the side.

Tobi nodded as he continued to rub the back of his neck still laughing. He then dropped his hand, and put his fists onto his waist. "Oh, yes, yes. Tobi is fine, Master Hokage, yes, yes. He is." He then shrugged lazily. "And yes. Tobi thinks it best if he drops out. As you can see, Tobi's not the most graceful ninja here. So me'thinks it best if Tobi drops out." he told Hayate.

There was a very long silence as the sick Shinobi turned and looked at the Hokage to see what his opinion would be. The Hokage was quiet for a moment as he puffed on his smoking pipe then turned around and looked right at the Sand Jounin. "Yashamaru-san, you are Tobi's instructor, right? What do you have to say about this?" He asked, carefully. The Sand Ninja seemed surprised at first that the Hokage was addressing him but then he turned his eyes back to Tobi. He watched the masked ninja for a moment and then glanced side wards at Gaara. He stared at the red head for a long time before he smiled in a very friendly way as he looked back at the Hokage. "It is up to Tobi, Master Hokage. If he truly wishes to drop out, I see no reason why he should participate against his will." He told the Hokage.

The Hokage slowly nodded before waving a hand at Hayate to continue. The sick Shinobi nodded as he turned his eyes back onto Tobi. "Very well then. Tobi, if you don't mind. You are to leave."

"Aww, Tobi was hoping he could stay and root on his teammates!" Tobi pouted as he pointed at Temari and Kankuro. "Can Tobi please stay and watch?"

Making a face, Hayate sighed but then nodded. "Very well." Then his face grew very serious as he looked right at the other Genin. "Now, let's begin the preliminary. This preliminary will consist of one on one fighting. You will basically fight as if in a real life confrontation." He explained. "Since we now have exactly 20 entrants, we will conduct 10 matches and umm...the winners will advance to the third test." He said, then motioned behind him up at an electric billboard. All eyes turned upward to see it now flashing names, too quick to actually see whose name was showing. And then it settled on two with 'vs' between them.

Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akado.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Everyone was surprised to see Sasuke's name come as the very first match with another one of the Leaf Ninja, one of Kabuto's partners. They hadn't been expecting him to be first at all. Gaara saw the horrified look on Sakura's face but he didn't say anything. He didn't agree with her that Sasuke should quit. It was up to him if he wanted to get his ass kicked by some other Leaf Ninja. So he just folded his arms and looked at Hayate again who motioned for the two to step forward. "No, these two entrants come to the front." He told them. Slowly Sasuke and the other Leaf ninja did. "The two participants in the first fight are Yoroi Akado and Sasuke Uchiha. Are you ready?" Hayate asked.

"Yes." Both Sasuke and Yoroi said at the same time.

Gaara glanced over at Sakura again and saw that she looked extremely worried about their teammate. It annoyed him a little but he knew he couldn't make her see that Sasuke was what he was. His teal eyes glanced over at the raven haired ninja who was wincing a little. He wasn't sure what was bothering Sasuke so much but it wasn't good. He could see the pain in his eyes.

"Now, we will be starting the first match." Hayate said before motioning to the balconey surrounding the entire arena. "Will everyone except the two participants move to the upper level?"

Slowly, everyone did as he had asked. Gaara was walking beside Naruto when he felt someone touch his shoulder, making his head jerk around to glare at who dared to touch him but saw that it was Sakura. She wasn't looking at him so she wouldn't have been phased about the glare he just gave her, which he immediately diminished. "Sakura, are you going to be all right?" He murmured under his breath for only her to hear.

Sakura met his teal eyes with her emerald green ones before she sighed and looked back over to Sasuke as he faced his opponent. "I don't know, Gaara. I'm just so worried about Sasuke. I know that mark is hurting him but...I just..."

Gaara shook his head as he tilted his head towards Sasuke now. "Sakura," He paused to think of the right words. "Sasuke feels like he needs to do this. There's nothing none of us can do. Just relax. Sasuke can do this. You should know he can." He told her quietly. Sakura looked right at him but then her face softened and she nodded. She knew he was right. He was always right at some point. So she just picked up her pace and joined Naruto up the stairs. However, something caught Gaara's attention. He could feel eyes on him so he glanced over his shoulder and saw the Sand Jounin, Yasha-something watching him as he was already standing up on the other side of the balcony. Next to him stood the Sand Ninja, Tobi. His back was too him though. He frowned at the Sand Ninja but then turned his eyes over to Kakashi who was standing near Sasuke. He heard him murmur something about don't using the Sharingan. Truth be told, Gaara agreed with his teacher. He did not want Sasuke to have to use his Sharingan and then have it cause him a massive headache.

That was another thing that bothered him. He remembered the other night, when he had lost control to Shukaku. He had remembered that he saw a Sharingan eye that night. He frowned at the memory of losing consciousness just by looking at the eye. He remembered that there had only been one Sharingan eye he had seen. The other one had been covered up. But after glancing over at Kakashi, he knew that it hadn't been him. It had been a right eye he had seen. And he knew it wasn't Sasuke because it just didn't seem like he would do that. It was someone else. But who else had a Sharingan eye? He would have to keep his eyes peeled for whoever it had been.

Finally the match began. Gaara watched as it started off with the Leaf Ninja, Yoroi's hand starting to glow blue while he was throwing shuriken at Sasuke. Of course, the raven haired Shinobi deflected the blades right back at him, though he winced in pain, turning his head slightly to the side. It was then, Gaara saw exactly what Sakura had been fretting over. Right on his neck, between his throat and shoulder there were three black markings throbbing on it. The red head only frowned but he didn't have much interest in watching Sasuke fighting. He actually felt a little bored. He watched as Sasuke and Yoroi were practically wrestling on the ground but then something seemed to be wrong. Sasuke was clutching at his chest as he stood up. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. But then Yoroi grabbed a hold of his head, pinning him tod down to the ground.

"Sasuke!" Sakura gasped as they watched.

Gaara just watched dryly as he looked down at the match, watching as Sasuke struggled to get the Leaf Ninja away from him. It was obvious of what Yoroi was doing to Sasuke. He was sucking up his chakra with his hands. But after a moment, Sasuke kicked the ninja away from him and they continued to fight. "Sasuke, this is it? This is all you have?" He grumbled.

"Sasuke! Are you really Sasuke Uchiha!" Naruto bellowed beside him. "Is that the best you can do?!"

Gaara just merely glanced at the blonde beside him before looking at Sasuke again, who was looking at them in surprise. His eyes weren't on Naruto though. They were on Rock Lee, who was standing on the other side of Naruto. That made the red head frown. Why was he looking at him? A second later, he knew why.

For Sasuke ducked right under Yoroi and kicked him in the chin, sending him flying upward into the sky. In a way that looked like the move that Rock Lee had used against Sasuke several days ago. Gaara smirked when he realized that it was Rock Lee's move. He watched as Sasuke only used the beginning of Lee's move before adding his own touch to it. However, during the attack, Sasuke gasped in pain as black markings began to swirl from the back of his neck and began swirling up to his face. He was fighting to get the black swirls back though. And he seemed ot have won. Because the black markings were gone. Gaara frowned though as he watched Sasuke began to kick the crap right out of Yoroi then slammed him right into the ground. Then he was thrown right off of the Leaf Ninja and ended up on his stomach.

There was a long silence as Hayate moved closer to look at the two. He then walked over to Yoroi and bent over him, looking him over. After a second, he turned his head and smirked as he saw Sasuke getting to his knees. He shook his head before pointing at Sasuke. "I'm stopping the fight here and thus...the winner of the first match, Sasuke Uchiha...has passed the prelims!"

Beside Gaara, Naruto began jumping up and down in glee while Sakura just looked stunned. The red head just smirked to himself as he folded his arms and looked away. He saw Kakashi appear right behind Sasuke, keeping him from falling onto his back. But he didn't look at him. "Sasuke!" Naruto called down to him. "You, you! What a lame way to win! you're all beat up, idiot!" Then he started to laugh hysterically. Both Sakura and Gaara just smirked to theirselves.

However, Gaara caught sight of something very odd. He frowned when he saw the Sound Jounin looking down at Sasuke with such awe and glee. That wasn't something that the red head didn't like. Especially the look in the Sound Ninja's eyes. He looked at Sasuke as if he was something to eat. And licking his lips told Gaara that was what this guy was thinking.

A second later, Sasuke had gone with Kakashi, leaving the arena so that they could get started on the next match. All eyes turned onto the marquee to see that it was now time for Zaku to face off with Shino Auburame.

Gaara had no interest into watching this match. He knew little about Shino, like most people did. He never did pay too much attention to the quiet kid but he wasn't really that interesting. More like weird. He hardly every said a word as it was.

The match was over before it really began anyway. The Sound Ninja, Zaku only tried to use his Sound techniques against Shino. It worked in the beginning, knocking the silent Genin off his feet and cutting open his cheek and there were bugs now crawling out of his face. From what Shino explained to Zaku, his bugs lived inside his body and they absorbed all of the chakra in someone's body. The match ended with Zaku blowing his arms right off his body.

Gaara didn't listen to anything that was being said about Shino though. The only thing he heard was that Shino was from the Bug using clan and they let bugs use their bodies as a nest in return for their power. It wasn't very interesting to him. His attention went to Kakashi when he suddenly appeared again. Sakura immediately jumped forward and started asking about Sasuke. The red head just merely glanced at his instructor who just shook his head. "He's fine. Sleeping in a hospital bed. With ANBU protection though." He explained then turned his attentioin onto the marquee.

The next match had his attention. Misumi Tsurugi vs. Kankuro.

Gaara frowned as he immediately turned his teal eyes onto his so called brother, who was smirking as he nodded and jumped down into the arena, joining the other Leaf Ninja that he didn't know. He wondered how this one was going to play out. And exactly how good was Kankuro anyway? He figured he was about to find out.

The match began with Kankuro just smirking at the Leaf Ninja who was squabbling about how he wasn't going to take it easy on the young puppeteer. Kankuro just shook his head before removing his puppet from his shoulder and putting it down next to him. A second later, the Leaf Ninja charged at him and tried to hit Kankuro, who blocked it. But startling, nonetheless, the ninja seemed to become a human elastic and began twisting and turning his arms and legs all around him, trying to bind him. Gaara frowned but watched. They were talking to one another but he really couldn't hear them. Then without any warning at all, the Leaf Shinobi just snapped Kankuro's neck, killing him. The very motion startled several viewers, including Gaara. His eyes lit up in surprise as he watched Kankuro's head just dangle there, lifelessly. He was surprised that it happened but annoyed. Kankuro, his so called brother, was dead. But then again, something didn't seem right. His teal eyes flickered up to where Temari, Yasha-what's-his-name and Tobi. None of them looked worried. So if they weren't worried, there must have been something up. So he looked down at the arena again to see if there was something he missed. And sure enough, the cacoon wrap, Kankuro's puppet began moving. He realized it with a roll of his eyes. The Kankuro that the Leaf Ninja just 'killed' was the puppet.

Kankuro jumped out of the cacoon, startling everyone else who hadn't been expecting it and controlled his puppet, Karasu to drop the death act and had him squeeze the ninja so tight that it broke so many bones in his body. The match was over.

The next one, however, was Sakura Haruno vs Ino Yamanaka.

Both Sakura and Ino went down in the arena to face each other, both looking rather fiercely at each other. There was no humor in their eyes. Instead, they looked like they were very determined to fight each other. Once the match began, Gaara watched as both girls charged at one another and began pummpling each other. It was a pretty serious fight though. Not much was happening though. The match dragged on, and eventually Gaara got a little bored as he watched his teammate trying to punch her once best friend. He had to admit it though. Sakura was doing pretty well for herself. She was pulling some very good moves on the blonde Kunoichi. Not something he hadn't doubted her for. He knew Sakura was strong enough to fight. He had always known that she could do it. She just needed the right confidence in herself.

At one point though Ino had cut her long blonde hair, which just made Gaara frown and throw it at Sakura as if she was throwing a fit. Then she tried to do something. He wasn't too sure what Ino was trying to do, but Sakura seemed to be in trouble. Especially when found herself frozen in place by Ino's hair. Then Ino tried her move again. This time, it seemed to work. Ino slumped right over and a very un-Sakura like smile curled on the pink haired girl's face. Kakashi then mentioned that Ino had just used a mind transfer move. In other words, Ino was inside of Sakura's body and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Even worst, Ino was making Sakura raise her hand as she looked right at Hayate, who frowned at her. "I, Sakura Haruno, would like to for..." She was saying.

"DON'T SAKURA!" Naruto bellowed down at her, making all eyes turn onto him. "YOU'VE COME THIS FAR! IF YOU LOSE TO THAT SASUKE LOVING IDIOT! YOU'RE NOT A WOMAN!"

Ino just smirked with Sakura's face as she shook her head and turned her attention back onto Hayate opening her mouth to say something. But again, someone interupted. "If you let her beat you like this now, Sakura," Gaara said quietly, getting everyone to look at him now. "You are not the ninja I thought you were." Ino with Sakura's eyes turned onto him next, looking rather disgusted. She didn't seem pleased that he was even talking to her, or Sakura for that matter. The red haired Genin just shook his head as he folded his arms and looked right into Sakura's green eyes. "Sakura, you are better than this. You were the first one up the tree, remember? You are a lot stronger than Sasuke makes you out to be. Prove yourself. Prove that you are better than Ino." He told her seriously.

Ino just frowned but then her eyes widened as her body froze. She looked almost paralized before she started shaking violently and gripping at her hair. She yelled out as if she was in pain.

"What is it? You want to forfeit?" Hayate asked.

At those words, Sakura jolted upward and glared at him with her fists clenched tightly. "Forfeit?! Like hell I'll forfeit!" She screamed before she slammed her hands together into a sign. Then Ino's head snapped up and she looked wide eyed at her. She seemed startled about something but they both stood up, gasping. Then they lunged forward to continue their fight. Their fists swung at one another before they hit each other hard across the cheek and went sailing back, lying very still.

There was a moment's pause as Hayate looked from both girls before sighing and shaking his head. "Both fighters are unable to continue. This is a double knockout. The 4th match has no winner." He announced, startling everyone.

Gaara just smiled to himself though as he watched both Kakashi and the Jounin, Asuma jump down to fetch their students then jumped back up on the balcony. He summoned out his sand, however, motioning for both of them to set the girls down on it. Kakashi just gave the red head a smile and a nod of approval and Asuma just gave him a nod of gratitude as he set Ino down next to Sakura. Naruto, Lee, Shikamaru and Choji were fretting over their teammates though until Kakashi told them to shush.

Then they turned their attention back onto the match below, which was Temari vs Tenten.

For some reason, Gaara already knew the outcome of the fight so he didn't bother watching. He just had a feeling that he knew who was going to win. So he turned his attention onto Sakura instead, watching as she slept peacefully. He glanced over to Naruto to see that he was too focused on the match so he wasn't paying attention. So Gaara breathed out a low sigh and looked back at Sakura. He watched her for a moment before reaching over and gently brushing a long strand of pink hair from her face, his face rather soft. He was just glad she was okay. He didn't know what he would do if she was severely hurt.

"I see, you have a thing for her, don't you?" came a very quiet but friendly voice.

Gaara's hand jerked back as if he had been burned and looked up to see the Sand Ninja, Yasha-something now on their side of the room. Kakashi must have sensed him because he turned sharply as well. He looked seriously at the Ninja, who just glanced at him in a friendly way. "Forgive me. I just wanted to speak to your student for a moment." He said, softly.

Even Naruto had jerked around, startled that he had come up behind them so suddenly. He jabbed his finger towards him, looking very alert. "YOU! Aren't you Temari and Kankuro's sensei?! What are you doing over here?! Why aren't you watching Temari?!" He demanded rather loudly. Gaara was also giving the blonde the same questioning look, while glaring suspiciously at him. The Sand Ninja just glanced down at Temari as she and Tenten were already starting to go at it. But then he shook his head and looked back at Naruto. "Sorry. I have no need to watch this match. I already know the outcome. I'm afraid the young girl, Tenten, will lose rather badly." He told him, sounding as if he pitied the black haired girl.

"HEY!" Lee exclaimed spinning around and looking at him with offense. "Tenten is not going to lose! She's going to beat the other girl!"

Even Gai and Neji was looking a little offended.

The Sand Ninja just sighed with a little bit of sorrow on his face before he looked down at the girls resting on Gaara's sand. He blinked in surprise when Gaara moved in between him and them, giving him a daring look as if to even look at Sakura and Ino. His arms were tightly folded over his chest, defensively. "Naruto asked you a question. Who are you?" He asked, darkly.

"Oh." The Sand Ninja said before his face lit up a little then he bent down into a bow before Gaara, giving him a friendly look. "My name is Yashamaru. I am indeed Temari, Kankuro and Tobi's sensei, or one of them that is. But I'm also Temari and Kankuro's uncle." he told him, and there was a message hidden right in that sentence as he spoke to the red head.

Gaara's eyes snapped wide open and he almost stepped back. He was alarmed even hear that. It seemed to surprise Naruto too, but the Sand Ninja didn't even pay any attention to him. Gaara just kept his surprised eyes on the man before him. "You..." He slowly shook his head as he backed into the wall, next to Sakura. "Yo-you are my...their uncle?" he asked, frowning. He saw Kakashi's one eye lit up in surprise, as did Gai's. The other Genin didn't seem to have caught on though.

Yashamaru just smiled kindly at Gaara but nodded. "Yes. Their mother was my sister before she died." He told him.

The young red haired Genin felt his heart starting to speed up as he looked up at Yashamaru, almost too alarmed. He felt like his heart was going to pound right out of his chest from talking to this guy. So, Yashamaru was Temari and Kankuro's uncle. And that meant, he was his uncle too. "..." The red head dipped down his head a little, his hand reaching up and pressing against his chest. "Do...do you know who I am then?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, now surprised. The other Genin looked almost as confused as he did. But Kakashi and Gai frowned, seriously as they watched the Sand Ninja carefully.

Yashamaru's face softened a little, a slight sad look in his eyes but he dipped his head into a nod. "Temari and Kankuro explained to me after the second test that they spoke to you. Whatever they told you, it's true. They would never lie. Not really anyway. So I do know of you, Young Master Gaara." That just made everyone frown even more. But he paid them no heed. His eyes were only on the young red head. "Anyway, I just thought I would come speak to you for a moment and introduce myself." He said holding out his hand to Gaara. Gaara hesitated but then lift a somewhat trembling hand into his and shook it. He didn't pull back when the Sand Ninja lightly pulled him closer so that he could whisper something to him. "Gaara, Tobi knows who you are too. He's not stupid. Please, stay away from him. He's one of them." he muttered before he vanished in a cloud of sand.

Gaara just stared at the spot where his uncle had just been standing. he was a little shakened by that encounter even though there hadn't been any threat to it. He was learning more and more about his true history as they went through this Chuunin exam.

"Hey, Gaara. Are you okay? What did that guy say?" Naruto asked, moving closer, looking at his best friend with concern.

Gaara blinked out of his thoughts then looked at the blonde. He stared at him for a moment before he looked away, his arms once again over his chest. "Nothing. Don't worry about it. Just watch the Preliminary." He told him quietly before looking back at Sakura. He glanced at Ino, when she started to stir. So it would be a matter of time before the pink haired girl woke up. So he went back to watching the match, which was over.

And like Yashamaru had predicted, Temari severely beat Tenten. There were weapons lying everywhere. Temari had Tenten knocked out and resting on top of her fan. She looked rather bored though. She just smirked before she threw Tenten across the room. There was a startled cry from everyone but before the black haired girl could hit the ground, Lee was down in the arena, catching his teammate before she seriously gotten hurt. He was glaring at Temari with such hate though. "What are you doing?! Is that how you treat someone who gave her all in battle?!" The Taijutsu expert exclaimed in rage.

Temari just rolled her eyes as she leaned against her fan and shook her head. "Shut up. That loser and get out of here." She remarked.

Angrily, Lee jumped forward as if to attack her. He even began to send a kick right at her. Temari grew very alert in the matter of seconds and blocked his kick before he could connect with her. She just smirked at him before saying somethine quietly that pissed him off even more.

"Lee! Stop!" Gai yelled as he jumped down into the arena next. Lee gave him a very sad look though. He didn't want to stop.

Gaara just gave Temari a very savage look. He agreed with Lee in a way. He didn't like the way that Temari had just treated Tenten. So with his eyes glaring down at her, he continued to glare at her until she felt his hot gaze, looking up at him. Even Lee looked up at him, almost surprised.

"Temari," came Tobi's cheerful voice, making the blonde whirl her head back around to look up at him. "You've been declared the winner already. So why don't you just return back here and stop meddling with that fool there. You've had your fun already. The weirdo with the eyebrows is not even worth your time."

Lee glared at Tobi, as did Gaara. But before the black haired boy could say anything, Gai put a heavy onto his shoulder and shook his head. Then the arena was cleared. Gaara was still glaring at Temari for her actions. She must have felt his eyes because she turned back and looked at him. He just narrowed his eyes dangerously at the blonde, almost warningly. She flinched before looking away.

"Don't lose to those guys, Naruto and Gaara!" Sakura suddenly said, surprising the two.

Bot Gaara and Naruto whirled around to see her now up and looking much better since she had been knocked out. She must have seen that last bit after waking up. Truth be told, Gaara felt a huge wave of relief roll over him. He hadn't even realized that she was up. Naruto just grinned at her. "Sakura! You're all right!" he said cheerfully. Sakura just gave him a smile and a nod. "I'll be fine. You should be more worried about yourself. If you lose, you're not a man. How will you be able to face Sasuke?" That really burned Naruto a little. But she smiled at him. "Also thanks for earlier. If it wasn't for you screaming like an idito, I would have lost to Ino." She then turned her green eyes onto Gaara, giving him a very thankful smile. "It's also thanks to you, Gaara. I heard your words more clearer than Naruto's, actually. It was like you were right next to me. Thanks for believing in me. Even though I still lost." She told him.

Gaara just gave her a soft look but looked away. "You're welcome, Sakura. You're my teammate. Even in a preliminary like this, teammates must stand up for one another." He told her quietly. He turned his head back to her when she lightly patted him on the shoulder. "Oh! Thanks for letting me and Ino sleep on your sand! It was actually really comfortable!" She said brightly. Gaara just smirked as he called all of his sand back into his gourd, also calling all of the sand that still clung to Sakura's hair. She looked very thankful for that. Then they looked back at the marguee.

The next match was Shikamaru Nara against Kin Tsuchi.

This one really annoyed Gaara. He was starting to lose his patience now. He wanted to fight soon. And Shukaku wasn't making things easy for him. The demon was getting a little blood thirsty and excited with all of the fighting. There was a minor storm in his head but not enough to cause Gaara too much discomfort. He just looked away while listening to the fight. In the end, Shikamaru beat Kin with amazing wits. He used his Shadow Possession Jutsu to take over Kin's body and had her knock herself out by slamming her head against the wall.

The next match after that definitely had Gaara's attention. It was now Naruto's turn and he was facing with Kiba.

Both quickly went down to begin their fight. This one, Gaara would watch, knowing if he didn't Naruto would bug the hell out of him about it. When the match began, things started very interesting. Naruto was yelling at Kiba about how he should tell his dog, Akamaru to back off so it didn't get in the way of their fight. But Kiba stated that Akamaru was fighting too. Then the match began. Immediately Kiba used some kind of jutsu that seemed to make him into some kind of beast before he began attack Naruto. Gaara just watched the match dully as they beat the living crap out of each other, keeping up with one another. During the match, Naruto actually showed amazing wits by turning himself into Akamaru when Kiba used a smoke bomb against him and he ran over to bit the kid on the arm. Gaara heard many people start laughing when he reappeared still biting Kiba on the arm only to pull back and began spitting as if trying to get rid of nasty taste. Gaara just smirked to himself and shook his head.

The match got very ugly when Kiba flipped a soldier pill into Akamaru's mouth and he began to glow bright red. Then the dog transformed into another Kiba before both of the two charged at Naruto and starting slicing him up with some very unusually sharp claws. The poor blonde was now getting the beating of his life. It was almost too startling. Gaara gritted his teeth as he watched Kiba and Akamaru/Kiba beating his best friend up savagely. He knew that he couldn't jump in to help him though, no matter how tempted he was. If he did, there would be a good chance that Naruto would have to forfeit and he, Gaara, would be disqualified. So it was all up to Naruto to beat Kiba.

Eventually, Naruto turned the tables by transforming himself into Kiba. So now there were three Kibas in the arena, stunning everyone. It startled all of the Kibas to stopping though, looking at one another with confusion. The real Kiba just frowned before he grinned and spun around punching one of the other Kibas hard across the face.

But to his shock, the Kiba he hit turned into Akamaru.

"What?! Akamaru!" Kiba yelped before he spun around and attacked the other Kiba, hitting him hard across the face. He was now confused. And it only made things worst for him when that Kiba also turned into Akamaru. It stunned almost everyone when they saw him. Kiba was beyond confused now. But he spun around when the first Akamaru stood up and moved in to attack him, kicking him hard in the face and knocking him back. He looked at Naruto with confusion and alarm before he growled as he stuck his hand into his mouth and bit it hard to help him focus again. Once he was focus, he threw shuriken at Naruto while charging at him.

The attack startled Naruto, especially when Kiba manage to get right around him to get him from behind. He whirled his head around to see Kiba now trying to slash him from behind.

"PUUUUU!" came a low fog horn like sound making everyone freeze.

It took Gaara a second to realize what just happened. It just came to him when Kiba looked rather horrified before he leapt back, clutching his nose and gasping for air. "AHHHH!" he yelled as if in pain. Several of the Genin just looked horrified and disgusted when they realized that Naruto had just farted right into Kiba's face. Gaara sweat dropped but shook his head. "Oh, geez, Naruto. That's disgusting." He grumbled.

Then Naruto ended the match by creating several Shadow Clones and attacked Kiba, knocking him to the ground with blood spilling from his mouth. It took a second as everyone waited for Kiba to get back up. But he didn't. He just laid there as Hayate checked him before shaking his head. "Winner! Naruto Uzumaki!"

Immediately the room errupted with cheers, mostly being the Leaf Ninja. The others were cheering loudly and jumping up and down for Naruto. Sakura was screaming in happiness as she cheered for him. Gaara just smirked as he folded his arms and nodded his approval. He was proud of his friend. Naruto had indeed gotten so much stronger.

Finally, Naruto came back up to join the others. He was rather cheerful as he ran up the stairs to join his team. But as he walked towards Gaara and Sakura, he stopped when Hinata quickly approached him, looking extremely nervous. "N-Naruto," She spoke shakily, getting his attention. She then offered him a small container. Naruto just frowned as he looked at it with a frown. "What's this?" He asked.

Behind him, Hinata's Jounin Instructor, Kurenai, just smiled as she watched her young student hold out the container to him. "Medicinal cream." She said softly. Naruto just blinked in surprise but she shook her head. "Just take it, Naruto." She added.

"Uh...sure! Thanks! You're nice, Hinata!" Naruto said cheerfully before moving away. He quickly joined Gaara and Sakura, who were smirking. They were thinking almost the same thing. It didn't take a genius to tell that Hinata liked Naruto.

However, Gaara looked back down at the arena floor as Hinata went down to speak to the medical ninja who were now carrying Kiba out on a stretcher. They shared a few words before the red head noticed Kiba glancing up at him, rather darkly. So obviously they were talking about him. Hinata shivered at something that he said before glancing over her shoulder at Gaara then her white eyes flickered over to Neji Hyuga. So obviously Kiba did not want her to be fighting neither one, Gaara or Neji.

But things turned the worst for Hinata. For she was up next and she was to battle Neji.

This battle was not too settling at all though. Not even for Gaara's standards. Before it began, it was revealed that Hinata and Neji were related. They were cousins, though Gaara knew about that already. He remembered the Hyuga Clan now. There were several members of that family who had treated him like dirt. They had either ignored him or berated him. Just like Neji was now doing to Hinata. He was saying very cruel words to her, telling her to just give up being a Shinobi. He told her that she wasn't good enough to be ninja. That she was weak and useless. These words really began to unwind Gaara. He clenched his teeth tight in anger. He had always liked Hinata because she was nice to Naruto and to everyone else. But that was no excuse for him to insult her like that. By the looks of it, it was cutting into her heart savagely. She was trembling violently by the end of his cruelty. He had activated something that Kakashi called the Byakugan, which he explained that it was the ability of insight. Hinata, however, had tears running down her cheeks as she tried to look brave but she was really hurt.

"YOU CAN!" Naruto suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, making all eyes jerk up to him. "Stop deciding things about people! Jerk! Kick that bastard's ass, Hinata!"

Hinata lookd up at him with surprise, while Neji just looked annoyed. She trembled a little while whispering his name before lowering her head and taking a deep breath.

"Hinata! Stand up for yourself! This is hard to watch!" Naruto added.

After a few moments, Hinata raised her head, now looking very determined. She looked like she was ready to fight now. She just moved herself into a fighting position, which Neji also took. They were using the same stance now. Then they began to rush forward.

However, during their fight, it didn't look like they were striking each other very hard. They kept smacking at each other with their hands, mostly using their palms. They moved rather quickly though. It was almost like a rhymthatic dance between these two. But things really got worst when Neji hit Hinata directly in the chest, which made her cough up blood. That didn't look good.

And it wasn't good for Gaara either.

The moment he saw the blood, he felt Shukaku nearly explode in his head. He had to jerk around and force himself to watch the walls. The demon's bloodlust was getting too strong now. He could smell and hear the blood dripping off of Hinata. It was almost too unbearable. No one seemed to have noticed him though. Except Kakashi. The silver haired Jounin quickly joined his side, looking down at him with concern. But the red head just shook his head at him, telling him that he was okay. He didn't watch the rest of the match and he had to try and keep the sounds of Hinata's blood spilling. It got worst as Neji got too violent with Hinata. He could smell the blood in the air. He shuddered, as he began breathing very hard, trying to keep himself under control.

'Oooooh. So much blood.' purred the demon with bloodlust layered in his tone. 'Let me out! I want that precious blood! I am so thirsty!'

'No.' Gaara gasped within his mind.

Eventually, Hinata said something that really round Neji up and he charged at her with a look of hate, even while Hayate was yelling at him to stop, that this match was over. Before Neji could hurt her anymore than she already was, several of the Jounin jumped in, including Kakashi, to stop him from killing her. Gaara kept his back turned while he was fighting for self control.

It took him a long moment to finally calm down. By that time, Hinata was being rushed off to the Hospital under an emergency. And the arena was getting cleaned up. Naruto swore to avenge Hinata though. He practically challenged Neji to the next fight. And for some reason, Gaara had a feeling that it would happen. After that, Naruto returned with Gaara and Sakura, but he was followed by Kankuro. The puppeteer was attempting to make friends with Naruto. Gaara just watched him with a glare but didn't say anything. It didn't seem that his older brother was trying to be threatening to Naruto at all. He was just trying to be friendly. Or so it seemed.

"Cough, cough! And now...we will begin the next match!" Hayate announced, as he coughed into his hand.

Gaara just glanced up at the marquee, waiting impatiently. He swore if he didn't come up soon, he was going to get to very angry. His self control wasn't very stable as it was. If he didn't get into a fight now, Shukaku would make so many things bad for Gaara.

"It's about time for your turn! Let's go, Lee!" Gai suddenly said cheerfully.

However, Lee turned away and shook his head. He looked like he was being a brat now. "No!" He said sticking his nose up into the air. "It's come this far! So, I might as well go last!" He said, making Neji, Gai and Sakura look dryly at him.

Gaara, however, glanced over to the marquee before he rose a hand into a sign. He closed his eyes to concentrate before he vanished a cloud of sand, making Naruto and Sakura blink in surprise as they looked at him in surprise. But seeing that he was gone, they jerked around. "Hey! Where'd Gaara go?!" Naruto gasped.

"Down there." Kakashi said simply, pointing down in the arena.

In deed, Gaara was down in the arena with sand swirling around him as he appeared in the middle of the room. He just opened his eye before looking up at Rock Lee. "Get down here, Lee." He said quietly.

The marque now read, Gaara vs Rock Lee. It was finally his turn to dominate the arena.


	21. Chapter Twenty One

All eyes were on the marquee as soon as Gaara had spoken to Lee and indeed it was their turn. They were facing one another. Both Sakura and Naruto actually gasped to see their names together, though Sakura looked more worried. She reached up and bit her thumb nervously before looking down at Lee as he began kicking the air with glee. He was ranting about how he had said that he wanted to go last just to trick the fates. Sakura made a face as she watched him with the others but then shook her head as she watched Gai try to give him some advice. Gaara watched him as well through narrowed eyes but waited impatiently. He just wanted to get this done and over with, hoping it would settle down the demon inside him. Then he watched Lee leap right over the railing and land in the arena close to him.

Both young Genin looked right at each other with serious but determined looks. There was a smirk on Lee's face as he stood up straight and faced the red head. "To be able to face you this early, I couldn't be happier." He told him. Gaara just shook his head as he just folded his arms over his chest and dipped his head down.

"Gaara," He heard Sakura speak up softly. He glanced up at her, seeing how worried she looked. "Please, don't hurt him." She whispered.

The red head then turned his attention back onto the bowl cut Genin before he smirked as his eyes flashed a little. Lee's eyes lit up with surprise before he lashed out his hand, catching something. Everyone else had blinked in surprise when they saw him move. But then he opened his hand to reveal a cork, the cork to Gaara's gourd. It brought a smirk onto several faces though. Gaara was one of them.

"Now, 9th match, please begin!" Hayate barked to the two.

Immediately, Lee rushed towards Gaara, who made no move as if he was going to fight. He just stood there with his folded across his chest and watched as Lee rushed at him. There were several gasps as they watched Lee get dangerously close to Gaara, who still didn't move.

"Leaf Spinning Wind!" Lee yelled before lashing out a foot.

Gaara didn't move at all but his eyes narrowed a little as his mouth curved upward a little. Before Lee's foot could connect with his head, sand whipped out and blocked his foot, keeping it from hitting Gaara. The red head didn't even have to move or do anything. He just stood there. Then his sand whipped out at him, trying to attack. Lee gasped before jumping back as far as he could to escape the sand. Gaara just continued to watch Lee dryly as his sand swirled around him. His eyes were having a little trouble keeping an eye on Lee as he began running towards him again, now punching and kicking at him. He wasn't worried though. He just stood there, almost like a living statue, letting his sand do all the work. With each punch and kicked, Lee's fists and feet were deflected by the sand. It went on for a while before Gaara's sand began chasing Lee across the room, who just back flipped away from him. He landed on the statue of a pair of hands performing a hand sign, gasping for a little air.

"Lee! Take them off!" Gai suddenly called down to his student.

Gaara glanced up at the weird Jounin, frowning in confusion. He noticed that he wasn't the only one who was confused. No one seemed to know what he was talking about. But Lee frowned as he looked up at Gai, giving him a salute. "But! But Gai! That's...only for a time when I must protect many precious people, isn't it?!" He asked, making Gaara frown at him again. Gai just grinned down at him before giving him a thumbs up. "It's alright! I'll allow it!" He told him. Lee just stared at him in bewilderment before he grinned and began laughing as he sat down on his rear and began pulling off his leg warmers, revealing weights wrapped around his ankles. That made Gaara frown but he really didn't see a point in why he was wearing them. He glanced at Gai, who was smiling right back at him before he looked back at Lee as he stood up.

"All right! Now I can move easier!" Lee said excitedly before dropping the weights.

Several of the audience just snorted with humor. None of them actually understood what the weights were about and they were sure that those weights wouldn't make a different. Gaara glanced over to see Kankuro and Temari both shaking their heads and smirking.

That is until the weights hit the ground. There was a deafening boom and the ground vibrated as if something very heavy had been dropped. And it was clear that was the case.

"Lee! Go!" Gai said pointing at his young student.

Lee only smirked as he looked directly into Gaara's before he was jumping into the air. He practically vanished right from view though. Gaara's eyes lit up in surprise when he couldn't see Lee anymore. And hearing moving behind him, he whirled his head around to see him suddenly appear right behind him, throwing a fist towards him. The sand shield immediately jumped up in between them but it was awfully close, and then Lee vanished again. He was practically a blur to Gaara. He was moving at a breakneck speed all around him. The sand shield was trying to keep up and was, but just barely. A few times, Lee's fists and feet had gotten too close to him.

Suddenly Lee was right behind him, making Gaara frown as he jerked around to see him jump right above him. He could barely see him even move before something slammed against the back of his head, nearly knocking him right onto his face. Gaara's head nearly exploded with stars. It was like he had just run headlong into a cement wall. He was practically seeing only darkness, as if he had just been knocked out while standing up. Fighting to stay conscious, Gaara straightened a little, listening to Naruto and Sakura yell out to him.

'OUCH! THAT LITTLE PUNK! EVEN I FELT THAT! KILL HIM, GAARA! KILL THAT LITTLE COCKROACH!' Shukaku bellowed inside his head.

Wincing, Gaara stood up straight, glaring right at a smirking Lee. He could feel a knob on the back of his head but he was mostly fighting to keep the demon back. He wanted to fight Lee without the demon's help. 'Shut up and stay back, Shukaku! This is my fight!' He snarled at the demon before standing up straight again, still glaring at Lee.  
"Lee!" Gai called down to him before throwing a fist up into the air. "Explode!"

Lee nodded before he suddenly vanished from view again. Gaara frowned as he jerked his head around when he heard Lee behind him but found him not there. Only a green blur. And then an iron-like fist slammed into his cheek sending him flying nearly fifteen feet away from Lee. There were several gasps from the audience as they watched Gaara go crashing and rolling across the ground. The sand gourd lost some of its shape but as he climbed to his feet, holding his cheek. His eyes were closed, and he was wincing. That definitely hurt. There was only one problem now that he was facing.

Gaara was on the line of consciousness and being unconscious.

The demon inside him was now growling in rage and bloodlust. The storm inside Gaara's head became a raging sandstorm and the demon was now pushing himself forward. He was fighting to keep the demon back, and unfortunately, he was starting to lose the fight with the demon.

"Oh no. This is bad." Kankuro spoke up right beside Naruto.

Naruto blinked in surprised and alarm. He couldn't believe that Lee had actually gotten past Gaara's sand shield. He had never seen it happen. There were a few times that it had, but it was too rare. He knew that Lee must have been almost as good as Kakashi to get past his best friend's sand shield. "Yeah. I hear you there. That was a nasty hit Bushy brows just laid on Gaara." He said, sounding only a little worried.

Kankuro shook his head as he just looked down at Gaara. "No. That's not the bad I meant..." He muttered. Naruto blinked in surprise as he looked down at Gaara again.  
Lee blinked in surprise as Gaara stood up slowly, while sand was swirling around him. There were cracks in his sand skin as he stood up. But that was not what startled Lee at all. No, it was the look now in Gaara's eyes. There was something different about the way Gaara was now looking at him. Something very unsettling to him. There was such hatred and bloodlust in them. There was such a dangerous look in his eyes. It wasn't like how Gaara ever looked before. His eyes were so dark that there was almost a golden glow to them now. Startling enough, there was a sadistic grin on his face now. Never in Lee's life had he ever seen a look like that. Even Naruto nor Sakura had ever seen him smile like that.

The all around him now began to lift all around him, clinging to his body now while Gaara grinned at Lee like that. The particles of sand were now starting to fill in the cracks that Lee had caused. "Is that all you have?" Gaara spoke, but his voice was so deep and almost dark.

Above on the balcony, Kakashi's eye widened when he realized what had just happened. He could feel the strong pressure of Chakra now. He had felt that only a few times. The last time he felt Gaara's power like this was back in the Wave Country. When Gaara had killed Haku. "Oh no..." He muttered.

Gaara was still trying to fight Shukaku back, but the demon wasn't having it. He shoved Gaara's subconscious just as hard as he was shoving the demon. 'Shukaku! This is my fight!'

'Yeah?! And you are barely conscious! This is our fight, kid! I want to have a little fun too! So bugger off! I won't kill the little punk.' Shukaku paused before Gaara felt the sick grin on the sand demon's face. 'Yet.'

Lee, on the other hand, just looked up at Gai, who was looking right back at him. They shared the same look, almost as if the young bushy brows were asking for something. When Gai nodded him, Lee began to unwind his wrappings around his arms, letting the bandages dangle. Once that was done, he began running as fast as he could in circles around Gaara, who just frowned. The red head just watched the dust kicking up into a perfect circle before he shook his head. "Hurry up and come." He growled, it being his voice and the demon's.

"As you wish." Lee suddenly said before his feet connected with his chin, making him fly nearly ten feet up into the air. Gaara winced with a groan of pain but didn't have time to react. He felt Lee's fists pounding in him before the bandages began to wrap around his body, not letting him be able to move at all.

"Gai!" Kakashi said sharply as he moved over to his rival.

Gai frowned at him when he heard Kakashi talk to him so sharply. He wondered what was wrong to make him sound like that. "What is it, Kakashi? Can't you see I'm trying to watch my student beat your student?" He asked, somewhat annoyed. Kakashi shook his head as he grabbed his shoulder roughly. He had a panicked look in his eye but very serious. "You have got to tell Lee to stop now! He has got to throw in this match!" He told him sharply, catching a few of the Genin's attention. Both Naruto and Sakura blinked in surprise as they watched their silver haired Instructor face off with his rival. Gai, however, frowned at him with annoyance. "What?! No way! You're just sore that Lee's beating...!" He was saying.

"Gai!" Kakashi said sternly as he shook his head and moved closer. He was getting worried about this match now. It was showing in his eyes. "If Lee doesn't stop right now, he's going to get worst than hurt! He's already knocked Gaara half unconscious! Remember what happens when he goes to sleep when it's not the full moon?!" He hissed, trying to be quiet about it.

There was a pause before Gai's eyes widened in alarm. He obviously had forgotten about Shukaku. Now he looked rather terrified for his student. He jerked around, looking down at the arena to see Lee and Gaara now spinning in the air and falling straight to the ground. "Oh no..." He whispered. "It's too late now. Once Lee's started this attack, there's no way he can stop it."

"Kakashi?" Sakura asked, moving closer. "What's wrong?"

Kakashi glanced at her before sighing and looking down at the match again. "Lee's in trouble. That's all I can say." He said before lifting up his forehead protector. He needed to get a good look on what was going to happen.

There was a deafening boom as soon as Lee and Gaara hit the floor, creating a huge crater right in the center of the arena. A flash of green told everyone that Lee had jumped away from the red head, leaving him right in the center of the rubble. There were a few nods of approval from some of the Jounin. But the members of Team 7 all looked very worried as soon as they saw Gaara sitting there on broken rubble, looking like he was in the worst shape.

"Ga-Gaara." Naruto muttered worriedly.

On the other side of the room, Temari was gripping the railing tightly as she looked down at Gaara with worry in her eyes. She hoped that he was okay. Beside her, Yashamaru was observing carefully, as was Tobi, who was just chuckling. "Oh boy, oh boy. The Lee boy is sure in trouble." He said gleefully. Temari and Yashamaru only glanced at him before returning their eyes back onto the scene.

Gaara just laid there, looking very shattered. There were cracks all over his body, and his eyes were closed. He looked as if he was out of it. But as the cracked shards of his sand skin began to fall from place, Lee's eyes widened in shock and horror. Gaara's face had caved in, and it was just a hollow shell of him. Just his sand skin, without him. 

"What?!" Lee gasped.

Behind him, a lump in the sand began to rise right out of the sand, and Gaara stood up, smirking behind his back. His sudden presence startled everyone. Lee blinked in shock before he whirled around to see Gaara right behind him. This time, Gaara's eyes were even darker than before. He had lost control of Shukaku. It was now the demon who was playing with Lee. Slapping his hands together, Shukaku in Gaara's body grinned sadistically as he had the sand now starting to charge at Lee, who tried to jump back. But the attack of his Lotus had caused a lot of damage to his leg that he could barely move. The sand slammed into Lee, throwing him hard backwards into the wall. He yelped when it hit it before slid down the wall. The sand kept on charging at him making the bowl cut Genin raise his arms to protect himself. There was an explosion of before the sand fell away, revealing Lee had shoved the sand away from him, but he was panting rather heavily.

Shukaku in Gaara's body just grinned he licked his lips as if he could taste the blood already. He could feel his host still trying to fight to get back to the surface but he kept a wide block on the boy, keeping him at bay. Without having to move, he had the sand come up right behind Lee and hit him hard out of the crater in the wall before he stood up straight, controlling the sand to attack some more. Lee just stood up and rose his arms as if he was going to continue fighting. This only brought a smirk to Gaara's face as the demon threw out his hand to have the sand shot right at him.

"NO! Gaara, stop it! You're going to kill him!" Sakura screamed out to her teammate.

Gaara didn't even glance at her. It was like he couldn't even hear her at all. And in truth, he really hadn't. The bloodlust was practically pounding in his ears, blocking out all other sound. Still, Gaara was fighting for his control again and was starting to win. He had managed to push the demon back a little, so that he could continue this fight.  
Before the sand could hit Lee, the Taijutsu specialist quickly leapt out of the way, surprising all. Shukaku in Gaara's body just frowned in annoyance as he dropped his arms and stared at the other Genin. He watched as Lee stood up straight and raised his hand again, looking ready to fight more. He was exhausted but there seemed to be more fight in him.

"You are finished here." Gaara said in a dark way.

Lee just dipped his head down, smirking at the red head and daring to look him right in the eye. He didn't seem to be afraid that he had just almost died a moment ago. He just kept his hand out in front of him, almost as if beckoning him to come again. "Either way..." he said breathlessly. "This will end it..."

Gaara just watched Lee as he closed his eyes, probably concentrating all of his Chakra. He had overheard Kakashi saying something about the Eight Gates of Heaven or something like that. He wasn't really paying attention to his instructor right at the moment. The demon wanted to a bigger fight before he took this kid's blood from him.  
Suddenly the ground began to vibrate all around Lee, and for some reason his skin started to darken to red. He was now starting to shake violently. A deep red aura began to swirl all around Lee before he threw back his head and let out a terrible cry. He looked like he had just gone through a transformation himself. His face was completely red and there was such an insane look on his face. The power that was coming off of him began to blow a few debris all around him. He just clenched his fists even tighter before doubling over as he tried to gain more power, opening the Fourth Gate. Gaara saw blood now starting to drip down from his nose before grew very tense as Lee charged forward, using insane speed to get to him. The entire arena floor began to shatter as Lee ran at mach speed towards the red head.

Before he knew it, he felt Lee's foot kick up hard into his chin, repeating the same attack from before. This time he went sailing up until he almost hit the ceiling. His sand skin shattering and he was nearly paralyzed from being hit so hard. Gaara could feel himself losing control again. He felt the demon pushing himself forward just as Lee appeared right in front of him before he slammed his fist into him, sending him sailing across the room. He felt Lee's fist hit him again, making him bounce all over the room. The Taijutsu specialist was practically all over the room as he continued to hit Gaara. Gaara winced in pain with only one eye open when he saw him coming. He frowned when he saw Lee right above him, swinging his fist.

"THIS IS THE END!" Lee yelled.

Gaara just rose an arm as if to shield himself from Lee, feeling a slight touch of fear inside him. He could barely move and it felt as if Shukuku was going to take completely over him. He knew how much trouble that was going to be. Plus he was getting the beating of his life. He had never been this badly hurt before. After Lee's fist connected, he went sailing backwards before he felt something wrap around his waist, making him look up with alarm. Lee had wrapped his bandages around his waist and was now pulling back towards him. His eyes grew very wide when he saw a hand and a foot flying at him before connecting with his stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs before he flew to the ground with a thunderous boom. Debris flew everywhere while the sand gourd behind him exploded, trying to cushion his fall. Gaara felt every inch of control shatter like glass. He found himself shivering in pain on a bed of sand and in a new crater.

But either way, Shukaku was now in complete control.

His hand shot out of the dust and debris and sand shot towards Lee, before grabbing a hold of his arm and leg. It was almost sticky to Lee's touch. He gasped as he tried to pull away from the sand, but finding it very hard. The sand was almost like sticky mud and worst, it was starting to tighten around his arm and leg, painfully tight.  
"Sand Coffin!" Shukaku growled with Gaara's voice before he snapped his hand into a tight fist.

As soon as he closed his fist, there was a loud crunch in Lee's arm and leg before he screamed in pain. Everyone just watched with horror as Lee began to writhe in pain as the sand began to squeeze even tighter, shattering more bones. The Hokage just frowned as he watched through narrowed eyes before they flickered over to Gaara. He knew what was going on now. He could see the golden glow in Gaara's eyes and it didn't need to be told twice that it wasn't Gaara who was hurting Lee like this. This match had to end now. So with a wave of a hand to Hayate, who was now standing on the fisted statues. Hayate saw the signal and nodded. "Gaara wins!" He yelled hoping to distract the red head from causing more damage.

But Gaara didn't seem to even hear him. He just stretched out his hand again, calling the sand to crawl all over Lee. He was going to do his Sand Coffin move again. The sand began crawling all over Lee, wrapping around him and starting to squeeze.

"Gaara! No!" Sakura and Naruto both yelled at the same time.

Suddenly there was a flash of green before the sand went flying right off of Lee. Gaara blinked in surprise as he pushed himself to stand up, looking at Gai with alarm. He hadn't even seen him coming. Gai, however, just stood between him and his student while glaring at the red head. He looked rather angry that Gaara had just tried to kill Lee. After a moment, Gaara winced before grabbing his head, near his forehead marking. Deep within his own body, the young Genin was fighting to shove Shukaku back. Both were struggling for control but this time, Gaara was winning. He groaned a little as if he was in agony before looking up to meet Gai's dark eyes. "Why…..save him?" he almost growled.

Gai's eyes narrowed at him but he shook his head. "Because….he's my beloved comrade." He replied, knowing who actually asked the question. "But you wouldn't know that, would you, demon? Let Gaara have back his control or I'll be your next opponent." He whispered his threat, knowing that the boy and the demon would hear. Shukaku, with Gaara's face glared at the Jounin before his eyes flashed and he almost looked surprised with his surroundings. Gaara looked frantically around before spying Lee now standing up, though stumbling.

Noticing, Gai turned around and looked at Lee, but then his eyes filled with tears as he nearly broke down. "Even while you're out cold, you're striving to work hard." He sniffled before wrapping his arms around Lee. He picked him up before carrying him over to the medics.

Gaara just called back all of his sand to him and recreated the gourd on his back. He didn't look like there was as a scratch on him as he just watched the medical ninja check on Lee, looking him over. By the looks on their faces, it was some serious wounds that he caused. He didn't hear a whole lot but he heard enough. The words, "He'll never live the life of a Shinobi again" cut into his memory, almost scarring him. He saw Naruto had jumped down and hurried over to see if Lee was alright. And after hearing what the medics just said, he stepped back in horror. Gaara, however, stepped back, looking like he had just had the wind knocked out of him. He couldn't believe he had done that. He had practically taken Lee's dreams of being a great Shinobi away from him.

'No…..' Gaara thought bitterly. 'Not me. I didn't do that. YOU DID, SHUKAKU! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! I WANTED TO FIGHT LEE BY MYSELF!' He bellowed in rage at the demon.

The demon just laughed cruelly in his head as he started up a storm in Gaara's head. He loved causing problems for this weak brat. 'He nearly knocked you out, weak human. He was a threat to us so I took control. Remember, if you become unconscious, our body is mine to control.' He growled with glee.

Gaara gritted his teeth in anger but then he chose not to argue with Shukaku. He knew it was no use to arguing with him. The demon was not one to see reason. So he moved closer to watch Lee as he was getting taken care of. His teal eyes flickered up to Gai, seeing how upset the Jounin looked. There were tears in his eyes as he watched his student. But sensing Gaara's eyes, the Jounin turned and looked right back at him, a rather hard look in his eyes. The red head looked him right the eye before jerking his eyes downward, a little shame in them. He knew why Gai was so angry and to be honest, he didn't blame him.

"Gaara!" Naruto said sharply as he hurried over to him. "Why did you do that?! Why did you have to go so far in beating Lee?! You could have killed him, didn't you know?!"

Gaara looked right up into Naruto's eyes, noting the anger and confusion in them. He didn't blame Naruto either. He would not. With a forlorn look on his face, he turned away from his blonde friend and walked straight to the stairs. He heard Naruto following him and felt his hand fall onto his shoulder to hold him back. But with a quick hand sign with his hand, he was gone, back onto the balcony near Sakura and Kakashi. He saw Naruto now looking frantically around for his friend before noticing that he was up on the second level again.

"Gaara!" Sakura began as she hurried over to question the red head. Before she could even say anything, sand shot out of his gourd and formed a sand sphere all around him, keeping her from even talking to him. "Gaara! You come out of there right now! I'm talking to you!" She said angrily as she knocked on the sand sphere.

But Kakashi's hand dropped onto her shoulder, pulling her away from the sphere. "Sakura." He paused and looked at Naruto as he rushed up the stairs to continue on demanding answers from his friend. "Naruto, leave Gaara alone. He's already punishing himself for what Sh…..what he's done. So just leave him alone for a while." He told them. 

Both Sakura and Naruto blinked in surprise before they looked at Gaara's sphere with a frown. After a moment, they looked back at the arena for the last match.  
For the last match, Choji vs Dosu, Gaara did not even bother watching the match. He just stayed in his sand sphere and the darkness, brooding on his actions. He was scowling himself and the demon for what happened to Lee. He hated the demon so much, and he hated himself for being so weak. He was so weak that he could not even control his own demon. He swore on his life that he would become stronger and learn how to control Shukaku, even if it was the last thing he ever did. He would never hurt someone like that again. That was a promise he was going to make to himself.

After a while, he heard someone knock on the sphere, catching his attention. His senses told him that it was Kakashi. "Gaara, it's over now." Came his instructor's voice.

So with a sigh, he called back all of his and into his sand gourd and looked around just as everyone was heading back down to the arena floor. He glanced over at saw Naruto and Sakura frowning at him but he removed his eyes away from them. His attention, however, went straight to across the way to see his siblings, Temari and Kankuro watching him with pity in their eyes. They knew that he hadn't hurt Lee like that on purpose. They hardly even knew him, yet they knew that he would never do that on his own. Tobi, on the other hand, gave Gaara an applaud, as if he was congratulating him on his win. The red head's face darkened as he glared at the masked ninja before his eyes moved onto his so called uncle. Yashamaru was also frowning, but eyeing him in a rather censure way. But when he realized that Gaara was watching him, he tried to smile at him, giving him a sympathetic look. But the red head wasn't fooled. He knew he had the Sand Ninja's disapproval. He also noticed that the Sand Ninja were not the only ones who were watching him. There were several eyes on him. So deciding to avoid any eye contact, his face hardened and he walked after Naruto with a serious look on his face.

The Third Hokage then went onto explaining the final part of the exams, much to Gaara's annoyance. They were going to have another fighting competition that would be taking place from a month from then. He explained how all of the countries' leaders were going to be there to watch the fights. During the month break, everyone was allowed to do whatever they desired. They could train or rest.

Gaara immediately promised himself that he was going to train. He was going to figure out how to control Shukaku during that month, even the demon was laughing at his thoughts. His face just hardened as he listened to the sand demon. 'You just laugh away, Shukaku. Because you won't be laughing anymore when I finally learn how to keep you locked away.' He thought savagely to the demon.

In punishment for his threat, Shukaku lashed out at him with a sand storm in his head, making him wince heavily.

Moments later, Anko appeared, holding a box, which as the Hokage told the Genin that there were numbered cards inside them. Everyone was to pick a card inside and it would determine on what place they would get, as well as their opponents. Gaara's number was three. Once everyone had their numbers, the match ups were made.

Fight #1: Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuga  
Fight #2: Gaara vs Sasuke Uchiha  
Fight #3: Kankuro vs. Shino  
Fight #4: Shikamaru vs Dosu  
Fight #5: Temari vs. Shikamaru or Dosu

It was a surprise to Gaara when he found out that he was going to be fighting Sasuke next. He, nor anyone else had expected it at all. He saw several people glance at him, looking slightly worried. He knew that they weren't worried about him. No, they were worried about Sasuke. They were afraid for him. Knowing that a monster like Gaara could or probably would tear him apart like he had nearly done to Rock Lee.

With another dark look on his face, Gaara refused to look at anyone.

Soon enough, they were excused from the room and allowed to leave. Gaara turned swiftly and started out of the arena before Naruto could say anything. He didn't' want to face his best friend right now. But before he could leave, or Naruto could start demanding answers, Kakashi appeared right before the red head, shaking his head with his arms folded. "Gaara, the Hokage would like to see us both in the back room. Right now." He told him.

Gaara sighed but nodded. He knew what this was about. It was about Shukaku going berserk in his body. So he just turned to look towards the Hokage, who was already moving to a door way with several of the Jounin. Kakashi placed a hand onto the red head's shoulder and started to steer him towards the door. But both paused when Naruto quickly followed. "Naruto," The silver haired Jounin said without looking at him. "This has nothing to do with you. You need to just go home and get some rest. You too, Sakura." He told them both.

Both Naruto and Sakura looked like they wanted to protest but the silver haired Jounin gave them a stern look. So with a sigh, they both turned and left.

Once Kakashi and Gaara entered the back room, a slightly large room, yet smaller than the arena, the red head found that most of the Leaf Jounin were there. As well as Jiraiya. His eyes lit up in surprise to see him but then he drew back to see the very serious look on his guardian's face. The look of disappointment. Gaara's eyes lowered to the ground, knowing that Jiraiya was disappointed in him for what happened to Lee. It was the look he had never wanted to see aimed at him.

"Gaara, will you please step into the blood circle?" The third Hokage asked as soon as he cut his finger open and then made a large round circle with his own blood.

Frowning, Gaara nodded before doing what he was told. He just stood in the middle of the circle, watching everyone before he turned his teal eyes onto Kakashi, who started to lift his forehead protector. He drew back a little but before he could do or say anything, he saw the Sharingan. Before he knew it, he was unconscious. But as soon as he was, there was an explosion of sand all around him and the demon surfaced. 

The large demon grinned as he stood stuck in the circle, his large tail curled around his feet. "So, we meet again." He growled

The Third Hokage just kept a very calm and collected look on his face while Gai did not. The very second the demon spoke, his face turned red from rage and he nearly lunged forward with his fists balled up tightly. "You S.O.B! How could you do that to Lee?!" He exclaimed but Kakashi caught him before he could get through the blood circle seal.

"Gai," The Third Hokage said calmly while Shukaku was bellowing in cruel laughter. "Allow me to deal with this matter." He turned his attention onto the sand demon. "Shukaku, you have done serious wrong. You could have killed our young ninja, Rock Lee. If you don't recall, that was against our contract thirteen years ago." He said dryly.

"So what?! He was being an annoying and he hurt my head with that kick! I didn't like the little punk!" The demon growled at him before grinning when Gai swore loudly at him. "It was a shame that I didn't get to soak up his blood in my sand!"

Again, Gai swore and tried to break loose from Kakashi, and nearly succeeded if not for Ibiki now. He had rushed over and helped hold him back. The Hokage just frowned at the demon before shaking his head. "You made a promise, Shukaku and then you went and broke it. You swore that you would never hurt another Leaf Ninja from our village. Gaara was handling the situation in the fight well on his own. He knew that he had to fight to his fullest to win. He did not need your help. Even if he did lose, his life was in no danger. Nor was yours. Rock Lee would have not beaten Gaara to death. He has too much honor for that. And now," His eyes darkened at the demon. "You have taken away the only thing that gave him life."

The demon only just grinned wickedly at the Third. "If I do not recall, Master Hokage, but I am a demon who thirsts for blood. The only thing I care about is my host's body. The agreement that we made thirteen years ago stated that I would protect this weak body from any harm. Whether it be an enemy Ninja or your own. I warned you that if any harm came to this body, any at all, I would take over." He growled viciously.

The Hokage just narrowed his eyes at the demon before shaking his head. He was obviously trying to be careful on how he was going to approach this subject. But he knew it was for the best. "Well, in that case, you will be punished, Shukaku." He motioned to Kakashi. "Kakashi has failed to tell me about your threat, but I know he did it for the cause of Gaara. He cares about the boy a little too much." He paused when Kakashi winced and looked away. The old man just shook his head. "Don't worry, Kakashi. I know why you did it. And I am not angry with you. I'm not even angry with Gaara. But I am angry with Shukaku. That is why Gaara will now undergo some serious training with Ibiki and Anko." He turned his aged eyes back onto Shukaku, who was not looking happy at all. "You are to never gain control over Gaara again, and if you do, we will have you exterminated, even if it means the death of Gaara. The people of this Village will not be endangered by you, sand demon." He stated.

All three Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Gai looked at the old man with alarm but then sadness filled their eyes. They didn't want Gaara to have to die just because of this demon. 

"Master…" Jiraiya began.

But the Third Hokage held up a hand to him. "Jiraiya, will you have the village destroyed just because Gaara cannot control this infernal demon?" He ignored the annoyed growl from the sand demon. "I know you care deeply for the boy, but you know we cannot endanger the entire village for one boy. This is why I told you to not get emotionally attached to him, Jiraiya. You knew this might have to happen." He told him sternly. 

Jiraiya just looked away, his eyes slightly closed from grief. He did not want to have his young friend, the boy he had been looking out for to die just because of this demon. But he knew that the Hokage had a point. No matter how painful it was. One life of a boy who wasn't even from their village was not worth over hundreds of lives of the people who were.

Anko just glanced at Jiraiya, her eyes a little soft from sympathy. She wasn't usually one who sympathized anyone so easily. But in a way, she felt the same way as he did. She had seen Gaara and she liked him not just because of the color of his hair. It was the spirit she had seen in his teal eyes. Her frown becoming very firm, she folded her arms and lift her chin. "Stop sulking, Jiraiya!" She snapped, getting attention from everyone. Her eyes hardened on the white haired Sanin. "Do you really not trust Ibiki and I enough to take care of your little brat?!" She demanded. "He will be fine with us! I'll make him so tough, that damn demon right there will have such a hard time breaking through his control! He'll be like leather!"

There was a long pause as everyone blinked in surprise at her before Jiraiya's face softened and he gave her a nod of gratitude. Even Kakashi and Gai's faces softened until they were barely smiling. The Hokage just nodded before looking at Kakashi. "Kakashi, wake our young friend up now. I'm finished with this demon." He told him.

Kakashi only nodded before he released Gai and threw his hands towards Shukaku, who snarled in protest. "Kai!" He only yelled before there was a sudden flash of light.  
There was a mild explosion of sand within the blood seal before the sand inside fell away, revealing Gaara standing in the middle of the circle. His eyes were still closed but they slowly opened as he nearly fell over. Before he hit the ground, Jiraiya rushed forward and caught him, holding him up. The red head's eyes flickered open before he winced and grabbed his head. A low groan rose from his throat, making Jiraiya frown in concern for him. "Gaara?" He asked gently.

"Shukaku's angry." Gaara grumbled.

A few smirks and smiles broke out on everyone's faces while some shook their heads. Jiraiya just chuckled before he stood up straight, helping the young red head onto his feet before ruffling his already messy hair. "Hang in there, gaki." He told him.

The Hokage lift his head as he looked right at Gaara, frowning a little. "Gaara, I suppose you saw what we said to Shukaku through your dreams, did you not?" He asked. 

Gaara looked up him before his eyes became rather forlorn and he looked away with a short nod. "Yes. I don't blame you for wanting to punish me." He told him avoiding Gai's eyes.

Jiraiya's face softened into a look of pity but he looked up when Gai tried to smile at the boy. Gaara didn't see it though. Instead, he looked at the Hokage, who was shaking his head at him. "It is not your punishment that you will be suffering, Gaara. It is Shukaku's. The demon must come to realize that the body he inhabits belongs to you and you alone. You must force the demon to realize that. By doing so, you will work with Ibiki Morino and Anko to make sure that his wicked deeds is not repeated." The old man told him. "Starting tomorrow, you will undergo some of the most harshest training. Ibiki and Anko will not take it easy on you. You must realize this. But you, alone must succeed. They are only there to help you. Will you accept this training?"

Gaara paused as he took it into though. He couldn't stop himself from glancing over at Ibiki and Anko, noting how serious they looked. Neither one looked particular happy with him and there was such a hard look in Ibiki's eyes. He knew that the Jounin didn't like him at all for what he was. But with a deep sigh, he knew this was the only way. So he turned his eyes onto the Hokage, looking almost as serious as Ibiki was at the moment. "Yes, Master Hokage. I will accept this training. And I promise you, this will never happen again." He swore on his own life for it too.

"Good. Your training begins tomorrow, first thing in the morning. Ibiki and Anko will meet you at the Forest of Death Gates. Probably the same one that you and your team entered." The Hokage explained. "In the mean time, it is the full moon. Get some rest."

Gaara just nodded before he looked up at Jiraiya, who looked a little softer than before. "Forgive me, Jiraiya. I wasn't strong enough to stop him." He told him in a whisper. Jiraiya just shook his head as he patted him on the head. "Don't worry about it, Gaara. Just do me proud and beat the living hell out of that demon inside your head." He told him.

"Oh, don't worry." Gaara stated darkly as he looked at the wall with narrowed his eyes. "I will."


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

Before the day had drifted off into night, Gaara had to made it to his apartment without confronting Naruto and Sakura about what happened with Lee. He really did not want to talk to them about what happened. He knew they wouldn't exactly understand. It was hard to understand it himself. He didn't know how he would explain, much less he worried about how they would react. He knew in a way that Naruto might understand his situation. After knowing him for so long, Gaara knew the blonde too well. But he still didn't want him to know that he was more a monster than he could be.

So that night, Gaara sat on the roof of his apartment, staring up at the full moon, thinking about what the next day might bring. He was a little concerned of how rough his training might be. He remembered what Kakashi and Jiraiya both said before he had left the arena to go home.

"Be careful, Gaara." Kakashi said calmly once everyone started to file out of the room back into the arena. Gaara looked up at him in surprise before glancing up at Jiraiya, who was nodding. The white haired Sanin let out a low breath. "Ibiki's not too fond of you. He never has been. But that's just because he's always like this. He is very suspicious of Shukaku. He believes that the demon is too dangerous to have walking around." He told him.

Gaara made a dry look at the sound of that. He had to agree with Ibiki on that then. "Well, isn't he smart." He said dryly.

Jiraiya just chuckled before shaking his head as he reached over and ruffled Gaara's wild red hair, much to his protest. "Ah, don't take him too seriously, Gaara. Ibiki just cares about the village too much. He's so dedicated to this village that he doesn't want any harm to come to it at all. He's just nervous of Shukaku." He told him. "He's actually a really good teacher. So listen to everything he tells you. When he tells you to do something, just do it. Even if you don't like it. He knows what he's doing." he told him. Gaara only nodded, now feeling a little uneasy about this. He knew that Ibiki Morino was probably very strict, but exactly how strict was he?

Gaara looked back at Kakashi, when he offered him a smile under his mask before reaching over and patting him on the shoulder. "You're going to do fine, Gaara. Just keep your chin up and your head clear, if you can. Ibiki's not as mean as he makes himself to be. Anko, on the other hand…" he made a face at the thought. "Well….with her, just be on your guard around her. She likes to keep everyone on their toes. You'll see what I mean when you get started with her." He told him.

"Kakashi, what are you going to be doing?" Gaara asked quietly.

Kakashi paused for a moment as he took the question into thought but then shook his head. "Me? Well, I'll probably be training Sasuke." He waved a hand when Gaara's face hardened a little in thought. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not taking his side on your guys' match. The Hokage needs me to keep an eye on him. The marking on the back of his neck isn't a good one, Gaara. But when your match comes up with Sasuke, I won't be rooting just for one of you." He said smiling softly at him. "I'll be rooting for both of you."

Gaara nodded, his face a little softer as he looked away. Then he looked at Ibiki as he and Anko approached. "We'll start first thing in the morning. Get a lot of rest. You're going to need it." The Jounin told him, his voice rather stoically. Gaara made a face but nodded. He figured that it was best to get all the rest he could. So he went back to the village to his apartment.

That night, Gaara sat on his roof under the full moon, thinking about his new training with Ibiki and Anko. He wasn't sure what was in store for him but he hoped that it would help him with his problem. He knew that it was probably going to be very hard. Ibiki and Anko didn't seem like the type who did their thing half-assed. They probably did their training a little too seriously. But the thought of serious training brought a smirk to Gaara's face.

Tough training was his idea of real training.

However, as he sat on his roof, looking off into the village, watching as lights of the Village started to flicker out. His eyes drooped a little in thought as he tried to guess what might happen if he couldn't succeed in controlling Shukaku. He didn't like the thought that he came up with. He knew that if he couldn't figure out how to get the demon under control, he would probably end up getting killed or locked away for the rest of his life. The terrible thought brought a pinch of loneliness into his chest, making him reach up and cover his heart. The thought of being locked up for the rest of his life made his heart ache terribly. 'Please let me succeed. I don't want to be locked away.' He thought to himself.

'You know I won't let that happen. I'll destroy this pathetic village before it happens!' growled a very drowsy Shukaku.

Gaara's face darkened a little before he shoved the demon behind a mental wall. He didn't want his thoughts interrupted by the stupid demon. 'Shut up and go to sleep, Shukaku. I want to sleep too.' He growled at the demon inside him. For some reason, the demon didn't even bother to argue this time. He just went completely quiet, as if he had fallen asleep. Gaara just nodded before resting his chin on his arm and looking off into the distance, his eyes becoming rather heavy before he closed them. He wasn't exactly asleep but he wasn't awake either. He knew it wasn't smart if he fell asleep on his roof anyway.

Unaware that he was being watched, several roof tops away from him, the Sand Ninja Yashamaru was standing on the roof of the Inn, looking off towards Gaara's apartment. He was watching the boy as he just sat there, a deep frown on his face. There was a sad look in his eyes, looking almost as if the whole world was on his shoulders. "Gaara…" He muttered to himself before blinking out of his thoughts and looked off to the side just as a few shadows approached him. He narrowed his eyes a little before looking away again. "…You're a little late. I was expecting you five minutes ago." He told whoever it was.

"My deepest apologies, Yashamaru. But I run on my own time. Not yours or your masters'." Came the hissy voice of Orochimaru. He wasn't alone. Walking right beside him was Kabuto and the Sound Ninja, Dosu. The tall, pale Sound Sanin gave the Sand Ninja a look of dislike before glancing towards the horizon where Gaara was sitting. "So, that's the Shukaku."

Yashamaru's face hardened into a dry stare before he looked towards Gaara's apartment again. "It is. But I do not see what interest he is in you. We've met tonight to discuss the mission. Not about the boy." He told him darkly.

"On the contrary, I'm very interested in the boy, Yashamaru." Orochimaru said, his yellow eyes looking directly into the blonde's gray ones. "From the moment I saw him, I knew he was going to be a threat." He shook his head, looking very serious. "I don't like him and I know for a fact that if we were to end up fighting with him, this mission will be voided. He is a dangerous enemy. My friend here," he motioned to Dosu. "tells me that the Shukaku is highly dangerous. He witnessed it massacring several Shinobi during the second exam. He killed over fifteen teams in one night." He explained.

The Sand Ninja made a face at the sound of that before looking away from the tall, pale man. "So what are you going to do about it then? He asked, quietly.

Orochimaru folded his thin arms over his chest and looked off towards Gaara again. He was quiet for a long moment before motioning to Dosu. "The boy has to go. He's a threat to our plan to overthrow the Leaf Village. Therefore, Dosu will take care of him, since he appears to be asleep. Not very wise is he?" He asked, smirking coldly.

Kabuto frowned as he narrowed his eyes under his glasses before looking up at the taller Ninja. "Actually, Lord Orochimaru, he doesn't need to keep up his guard all of the time. His sand protects him no matter the condition. It's going to be very difficult in killing him. I don't think Dosu is going to be able to kill him." He stated his opinion. He returned the very same dark look that the other Sound Ninja shot him with. Orochimaru gave them both a warning look to start fighting. His pale lips curled into a sneer before he looked over at Yashamaru's eyes were rather hard. "Oh, don't tell me you might be feeling pity for the boy, Yashamaru. After all, he killed your sister."

"It was the Akatsuki who killed my sister, Orochimaru." Yashamaru said rather icily as he shot the tall ninja look of warning. "That also includes you, seeing that you were still one of them at the time." He said coolly. "And I don't pity the boy. I don't even know him."

Orochimaru then nodded as he held up a hand towards Dosu. "Then you won't care if I have Dosu kill him then. Now, will you?" He asked, smirking at him. Yashamaru turned away from him, his head lifting higher. "No. I don't care. I know you're man there is going to fail anyway. After seeing what happened during the Preliminary, I know the boy can take care of himself as it is." He said his eyes narrowing on the boy far away from their position. "Now enough talk about Gaara, Orochimaru. You contacted the Akatsuki for this mission and asked for support on the downfall of Konoha Village. Let's discuss the mission now."

There was a long pause before Orochimaru rolled his eyes and nodded, glancing over at Kabuto. "Very well." He murmured. "Kabuto, the mission scroll."

Kabuto reached into his hip pouch and pulled out a scroll before holding it out to Yashamaru, who took it slowly from him with a look of suspicion. He stepped back a fair few feet away from the gray haired Shinobi before unrolling the scroll and looking it over. His eyes furrowed as he read what the mission was before looking directly at Orochimaru. "Are you sure that this will work, Orochimaru? Especially during this event? What if it doesn't work?" He asked, frowning at him.

"It will work, Yashamaru, as long as the Shinobi of Suna listen to our instructions." Kabuto said, darkly, his eyes narrowing under his glasses. "All of the instructions are inside the scroll. The Sand Ninja are just play their part during the Chuunin exams, awaiting for our signal to attack. Then both Sound and Sand Ninja will attack the Village. It's plain and simple." He then tilted his head to the side. "Unless you want to question your Kazekage about the whole ordeal."

Yashamaru shot him a nasty look and spoke without thinking. It just slipped out but couldn't be helped. "He is not our Kazekage! He might think he is, and run the village under a heavy thumb, but he will never be the Kazekage! And you are pathetic as it is." he growled savagely. Kabuto glared right back at him before starting forward as if to start something but Orochimaru quickly held up an arm, blocking his path. "Enough! We do not have time to be bickering and arguing about HIM being Kazekage or whatever." He said, dryly before looking at Yashamaru. "Be careful of your words, Yashamaru. It is your Kazekage who holds your life in his hand. As well as the life of your students. If he wished, Sasori could have your niece and nephew killed just because of what you say." He warned him.

Yashamaru just looked away with a forlorn sigh. As much as he hated to admit it, but Orochimaru was right. Their lives did depend on that Akatsuki tyrant. He held everyone's life in the palms of his hands. If he chose to, he could, and would, close his hands and crush whoever he felt like. "What is this about abducting the Uchiha boy? This was never a part of the agreement. At least that I knew of." He said, looking at Orochimaru.

The tall thin man just smirked as he looked lazily at him. "That one just came up as I observed Sasuke Uchiha's skills. It wasn't going to concern with you, Sand Ninja in the beginning, but since my young friend here," He motioned to Kabuto. "Failed to abduct him earlier today and was caught as a spy, we're in need of more help." He told him.

"What?!" Yashamaru gasped as he looked at him in alarm. "Kabuto was caught?!" He shook his head as he stepped back away from him. "If I'm caught by the Leaf ninja speaking to you both, the plans to Sound and Sand crushing the Leaf Village will be ruined! Kabuto being uncovered as your spy and meeting me like this….this isn't what we had planned, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru just shook his head, smiling in his evil way, while Kabuto just chuckled as he looked at the Sand ninja. "They didn't exactly uncover my identity, Yashamaru. I uncovered myself. I wanted to see how the Leaf would react with the information." He told him.

Yashamaru's face hardened as he looked right at Kabuto. "I repeat my words, Orochimaru. If we are caught speaking to one another, Orochimaru, the Sand will withdraw from this plan. The Kazekage won't be happy at all when he finds out that this had happened." He said, his breathing picking up a little. Orochimaru just shook his head as he looked right at him in the eyes. "Don't worry. The Leaf will not find out about this plan. It will work." His eyes flickered over to Dosu, who tilted his head to the side to look back up to his master. "As for Dosu, he will deal with the demon brat. If he fails, things will truly fall apart. That boy has got to go. He's a thorn." He told the blonde.

"Very well. I will return to my village and discuss this matter with our Kazekage, as well as my team. We will send you a message of what he has to say." He then paused before glancing off to the side, as if he heard something. "What about our friend?"

Kabuto smirked as he turned his head directly off to the side, looking at the corner of the building with Orochimaru. "I'll clean up here. I'll test what kind of guys they have moving around the village." He told him. Orochimaru just nodded but then paused when Yashamaru turned around and looked at the shadow on the ground. He didn't look surprised to find out that someone was spying on him and the three. "No. I'll deal with the leaf rat. As a partner, the Sand should do something too. Besides, if I didn't, the Leaf would find out about our plans, and the Kazekage would be angry. As you know, he's impatient." He told him. There was the sound of someone fleeing immediately before Yashamaru was quickly after him.

Orochimaru, Kabuto and Dosu just stood there for a moment before they looked at one another. The pale Sanin just nodded to the Sound Ninja. "Dosu, kill the boy. If you fail this, you better disappear real fast. Because I will kill you myself. I'm getting annoyed that he hasn't been killed yet." He told him, in a very serious way.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." Dosu said before he was quickly gone just like Yashamaru.

Elsewhere, Yashamaru chased the Leaf Shinobi spy across the roof tops, running as fast as he could. He knew he had better catch him very quickly or there would be trouble. If he didn't catch this Leaf ninja, the Sand Village was in trouble and the Hokage would know of the devious plan. They already knew about how Orochimaru was trying to have Sasuke Uchiha kidnapped but to have the Leaf Village destroyed, that was something the Sand Village needed to avoid. Finally, he quickly caught up to the Leaf ninja and blocked his path. To his mild surprise, it was the proctor from the Preliminary, Hayate Gekko. Hayate looked rather serious as he turned to face him, before grabbing his katana on his back.

"Well, well. Mr. Cough-a lot. What are you doing out here, and so alone?" Yashamaru asked, with a dry smirk on his face.

"Looks like there's no choice but to fight." Hayate said before coughing. He quickly began charging at Yashamaru while pulling his katana and having two Clones appear right beside him. "Leaf Style! Dance of the Cresent Moon!" And he charged.

However, Yashamaru held up his hands quickly and several kunai shot right out of his kunai pouch and one quickly settled on his shoulder, blocking the katana. The move surprised Hayate greatly as he looked at the blocking kunai with shock before gasping in pain as the other kunai shot right into him, stabbing from every direction.

"The Dance of the Cresent Moon. Amazing for someone so young to master it. But it still can be blocked. Mine cannot." Yashamaru said before he flicked his wrists, and the kunai continued to attack Hayate. He tried to jump back only to get more stabbing into him. There were nearly fifty all around him, swinging without Yashamaru having to do anything but just stand there. He couldn't even block the kunai as they stabbed into him. The Sand Ninja just watched rather gravely before he held up a hand and called back all of his kunai just as Hayate fell to the ground. His eyes looked off into the night again.

On Gaara's roof, the red head had practically fell asleep in his arms. He knew he shouldn't have done it but it couldn't be helped. It being the full moon, he felt so tired and somewhat dozed off. He laid his head onto his arms and leaned against the sand gourd without even knowing that he had done it.

And also unknowingly, someone was creeping towards him.

Dosu, the Sound Ninja had his target in his sight and he was getting ready to make a fatal blow. His sound arm was uncovered and he was getting ready to perform his "Silent Sound of Death" Jutsu on Gaara. It would be quick and soundless with only a tiny ring and that was it. And it was very fatal when it was performed on someone. 'Hmm. Harm my partners like you did in the Forest though. That's something, you little monster.' He thought as he hid behind a large chimney and got ready. He waited till he was sure that Gaara was asleep before he started to jump out, swinging his death blow.

The red haired boy gave a jerk as he slid off his sand gourd, catching himself before he fell over but then he blinked and looked around when he could have sworn he heard someone. He frowned as he looked around on his roof but saw no one. After a moment, he just yawned before standing up and picking up his sand gourd. "It's time for some rest." He murmured to himself before he stepped off the roof onto his summoned sand, which took him straight to his room window. He wasn't even aware at all that behind the chimney of the next apartment, Dosu was lying in a puddle of his own blood, kunai stabbed into him and his throat sliced open. He was no doubt dead.

And standing above him, looking around the chimney, Yashamaru watched as his nephew went inside, his face rather soft. He just faintly smiled before nodding. "Good night, Gaara." He murmured before looking down at Dosu's dead body with a frown. "Sorry, but I couldn't let you kill him. I have orders from my Kazekage." Then he began to clean up the mess that he caused.

However, the very next day, both bodies of Hayate Gekko and Dosu were found, brutally murdered and slashed apart.


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

The morning Gaara was going to start training with Ibiki and Anko, he had left very early in the morning and was sitting out by the Forest, waiting for the two to show up. He wasn't particularly happy to be back at the forest. It was where he had lost complete control of Shukaku and it wasn't a place full of joyous memories. He really didn't like the Forest of Death at all.

"So, you're here early." Came Ibiki's voice. "Good. Then we can get things started."

Gaara blinked out of his thoughts and looked up to see the large ANBU approaching him. He was wearing similar clothes to what he wore during the Chuunin exams, but the vest was black and he wasn't wearing his long trench coat. He still wore his black bandana and ninja forehead protector on his head. He also wore leather gloves over his hands.

"So, Anko's not here yet. Why am I not surprised?" The large ninja said before walking right up to Gaara. "Anyway, let's get started. She'll probably pop out of nowhere as always. So, Shukaku container, let's…"

"My name is Gaara. It's not Shukaku. And I'm not a container." Gaara said rather bitterly cutting the ninja off.

Ibiki looked right back at him, his eyes narrowing a little but then he motioned over to a boulder, indicating that he wanted the boy to sit down. He waited till Gaara did so, though it took a little longer than he wanted. Gaara gave him a look of defiance and folded his arms until the air was just too full of tension and the red head didn't like the look he was getting from the Jounin so he listened. Once he was seated, Ibiki began to pace in front of him. "All right. The training I'm going to be putting you through may sound dull at first but eventually it will get hard." He paused looking at Gaara. "I am here to make you learn how to control that demon inside of you. It will be very difficult seeing that it is a Tailed Beast, but it's for the safety of the village." He explained.

Gaara just frowned as he looked up at the Jounin curiously. He didn't exactly understand what Ibiki was trying to get at but it sounded interesting if it was going to be difficult. "What kind of training is this? How is it going to help me?" He asked.

Ibiki just shook his head as he kept up his pacing, which started to get on the red head's nerves. He was quiet for a long time as he tried to think of how to put it. But then he shrugged and turned to face Gaara. "For starters, you are to meditate for one hour, finding your peace in mind. You will do this every morning without any questions. While meditating, you will focus your everything on your thoughts, memories, almost everything that deals with the demon. Me, on the other hand, I will be keeping a very close eye on you and observing your very mind, using one of my own techniques. It is a technique that I use on enemies of the village when I'm interrogating them. It will be uncomfortable at first, but you will get used to it." He shook his head when Gaara frowned at his words. "It is what the Hokage wants. He didn't choose me just so that I can stand around watching you meditate half of the day. He chose me because of my Mind Observing techniques."

"Mind observing…?" Gaara asked frowning.

Ibiki nodded as he looked directly into the boy's teal eyes. "It is a technique which allows me to enter one's mind, observing the very brain of the one I'm looking at. I can see one's thoughts, their memories, whatever. It's one of the most perfect ways of interrogating a spy. However, like I said, it's not exactly a pleasant sensation when I start. So it will hurt at first." He warned him.

Gaara took everything into thought but then made a face at the sound of him just meditating. That was it? That was all he was going to do? He was just going to meditate while this guy went scanning through his head? He didn't like it, and neither did Shukaku.

'If this pathetic human thinks he's going to come in here, looking around, he's got another thing coming. I will rip into his mind if he even puts a tendril of thought in here.' Shukaku growled.

Gaara glanced off to the side as if looking at Shukaku but then chose to ignore him. He silently agreed with the demon, not wanting Ibiki in his head. But then again, it was the Jounin's fault if he got hurt by Shukaku. "So that is it? That is all we're going to do?" He asked dryly.

Ibiki grinned at the boy's impatience but shook his head. "Nope. That's only the beginning. The meditating part is mostly my area. The physical part….."

"Is mine!" came Anko's excited voice from above.

At that second, Gaara was immediately moving out of the way when he heard a shrill whistle coming at him. He moved out of the way just in time before a very large kunai slammed into the ground right where he had been sitting. If he hadn't moved out of the way, he might have gotten sliced in two. Glaring at Anko as she dropped down next to the kunai, Gaara watched her as she pulled out her large kunai and stuffed it into her belt. She was practically wearing the same thing as the day before. "Awww. I missed. You're faster than I thought." She said grinning insanely at him.

"Enough, Anko. We haven't even started the first part." Ibiki said dryly.

Anko made a face at him but rolled her eyes as she went over to a tree and plopped down in the grass at it's trunk. She looked bored already when she had just arrived. "Hurry it up, Ibiki! You've got one hour and then I'm taking over!" She said snappishly before planting her chin into her palm and drumming her fingers against the ground.

Ibiki sighed before tilting his head towards Gaara, who was still glaring at Anko for attacking him so suddenly. "All right, boy. Let's get started. Sit down where you were and try and relax." He told him. Gaara gave him a dry look for the order but did as he was told. He planted himself right where he had been sitting, his legs crossed and he sat up straight. Ibiki just moved closer, standing over him and getting a very distasteful look from the boy. He knew very well that this kid had certain issues with personal boundaries. But in this profession, Ibiki always ignored the boundaries. It would be the same for this red head brat. "Try and relax, and don't move. 'Cause this is going to feel very unpleasant at first." He told him before pulling off his right glove, revealing that his hand was pretty scarred just like his head.

Gaara watched Ibiki with distrust but knew it was better to listen to him. He remembered Jiraiya's statement about him and knew that if the Legendary Ninja trusted this man with him, then he must have meant well. So he forced himself to relax. He just watched as the Jounin reached down with his bare hand, placing it right on his forehead.

Things happened all at once and Gaara had not been entirely ready for it. But he felt a little pressure against his head before he felt as if his eyes were starting to get a little dry. He then felt a stinging pain in his face, making him nearly jerk backwards away from Ibiki. But then he felt the Jounin's other hand grab the back of his head, keeping him in place. "I said relax! I told you it's going to be unpleasant at first!" He said sternly.

Gaara gritted his teeth but tightly closed his eyes, trying to bear with the pain in his head. He didn't like this at all but he tried to cope with it. The pressure grew stronger in his head as the Genin felt Ibiki's Chakra now leaking into his head, making it harder to focus. Shukaku wasn't making it any easier now because of the invasion, he was starting to kick up a storm.

"Relax, boy!" Ibiki barked. "Just relax and it won't hurt!"

"My name is Gaara and I'm trying!" barked Gaara right back. "But it's him! He doesn't want you in my head!"

There was a pause before Ibiki let out a long sigh before pulling back his Chakra a little. It released a little pressure in his head, making it a little easier to focus. "Start meditating, Gaara. Try to focus your thoughts. It'll probably work better that way." He told him, a little more calmly.

Gaara gritted his teeth but then pressed his hands together, trying to slow down his breathing. He took a deep breath, while still feeling Ibiki's Chakra lingering in his head. He tried his best to meditate but it wasn't easy. It bothered him a little that Ibiki was trying to get inside his head. But after a few moments of attempting to meditate, it didn't hurt as much. Once Gaara was more relaxed, Ibiki tried again, only slowly this time. He pushed his Chakra into his head, pausing a few seconds when the boy winced. It took at least five minutes for him to manage it but then he was finally inside Gaara's head. He closed his eyes and used his other hand to form a hand sign and that was when things really got interesting.

It was almost like an explosion, only it didn't hurt as Gaara thought it would. With his eyes closed, he saw images rushing towards him with his eyes closed. It was more like rushing through stars, for they didn't look exactly like memories. It was more like balls of light rushing right past his very eyes. He felt as if his breath had been taken away as he found himself surrounded by darkness, with only a sandy desert under his feet. He could see himself standing there in the middle of no where. All around him was just sand dunes and balls of light. Then he turned and found a large form standing before him.

The sight of Shukaku startled Gaara, making him step back in alarm. He had never actually seen the sand demon himself but now he could see him. He could tell that it was the demon. He was a giant creature; golden tan like grains of sand and there were black and gray markings all over his body. A giant tail swished back and forth behind him but the thing that bothered Gaara the most was the look on the demon's face. He was scowling as if he was in a very raunchy mood.

"Shukaku? What's with you?" Gaara found himself ask.

The demon snarled down at him but then looked past him with his golden and black eyes. "The human placed a seal on me!" He snarled. "I can't move!"

Gaara blinked before turning around and was startled to see Ibiki standing right behind him. The Jounin was looking right up at the Sand demon with disinterest before turning his dark eyes flickered around the area. "Well, so this is what your mind looks like." He stated, looking around. Then he shrugged as he turned his dark eyes back onto Gaara. "This is what my technique does. It allows us both to enter your subconscious where we can observe your every memory and thought. To the outside world, we are just as if we are meditating. But in here, we can move around as freely as if we choose. Usually I can make it look like as if I tied you down to torture you in anyway but, fortunately for you, I won't. Your demon, on the other hand," He looked back at a snarling sand demon. "He'll have to be paralyzed while we're working together."

"So you can see him." Gaara said in more of a question.

Ibiki looked back at him before nodding. "Yes. With this technique, I can see everything that you've done in your life, what you are thinking, and whatever you are hiding." He paused when the boy's face darkened with a scowl. "I'm not here to spy on you, kid. I'm here to help you figure out how to keep that demon bay. But while we're here, why don't we take a look at some of your memories." He shook his head when Gaara gave him a darker look. "Look, Gaara. As you know, I'm not too fond of you because of Shukaku. But Jiraiya's told me that I need to get to know you to find out why he likes you so much. It was his idea that I did this in the first place. Usually I was just going to make you meditate. But he's told me that you'd find it boring so I thought I'd spice things up a little."

There was a long pause before Gaara slowly nodded at that thought. He figured that if it was Jiraiya who suggested this, it was okay. "All right." He paused to look around at the balls of lights. "What are those?" He asked, frowning.

Ibiki glanced upward at the balls of lights before folding his hands behind his back and starting to walk around while observing them. "Those, Gaara, are your memories. Every single bit of your life. Every single thing that you've seen or experienced. We'll be taking a look at a few of those." He pointed at bright white ones, which there were quite a lot of them. "The white ones, you see, are just normal memories. Just every day memories that you don't really care about too much. Those ones don't interest you or me in anyway."

Gaara then motioned up to a few red ones. There weren't very many red balls of memories but there weren't little of them either. "What are the red ones?" He asked, frowning.

"Those ones," Ibiki began carefully. "Those ones are the ones that interest me the most. They are the bad memories that you are trying to hide from me. I'm suspecting some of those are the memories of…..of some things that you've done that you've regretted badly." He told him.

Gaara grew very stiff. He had a feeling he knew what bad memories that Ibiki was talking about. And he knew that he would very much like to see those bad memories. He was sure that the memory of what happened with Zabuza Momochi and Haku were in there. He didn't want to see that memory. Nor did he want to show Ibiki them.

The Jounin must have read his mind because he glanced over at Gaara with narrowed eyes. "You'll have to show me sometime. I'm very interested into seeing what you've done. That way I can judge you better. But for now, we'll start with something small." He then pointed at several golden memories. "Those ones. Those are the memories that you treasure the most. With every good thing that happened in your life, looks like there's quite a few of them."

He had a point. Even though there were more white ones than any other ones, there were a lot of golden balls of memories. There must have been at least fifty of them.

Gaara frowned before a particularly golden ball caught his attention. Especially when he saw a flash of pink in it. He frowned at that one before glancing up at Ibiki, when he noticed that he was also eyeing that one. He probably was looking at it because the boy was. "Why don't we start with that one? You mind if we take a look?" The Jounin asked. Of course Gaara did mind. But it wasn't like he had a choice. So he just shrugged and nodded at the same time. So Ibiki reached out for it, and strange enough, it floated down towards them. But as soon as it even touched Ibiki's hand, it opened right up like a flower blooming.

It was a distant memory; one of Gaara's most earliest grand memories. It started off rather sad though. Gaara found himself standing right next to Ibiki, somewhere in the village park. It was like they really were there. But as the young Genin looked around, his eyes froze on something that he had not counted on seeing.

A miniature Gaara sitting on a swing, clutching onto a teddy bear named Totoro. He was no older than five or six years old. He was so tiny that it surprised Gaara that it was even him. He couldn't believe how small he had been back then.

The small Gaara was just swinging back and forth while looking off with sad, lonely eyes at several kids playing together. He was watching boys kicking a ball around while several girls were picking flowers or laughing together. There was one girl that had caught Gaara's attention though. Her back was too the small Gaara as she built a sand castle in the sand box, but it didn't take Gaara long to figure out who it was.

Who else had pink hair?

Gaara frowned as he turned his teal eyes back onto his miniature self, watching as the small boy swing back and forth while watching the other children play. There was such a miserable look on the little boy's face as his head dipped lower and his eyes grew more and more sadder as he watched the children laughing together.

But then the ball that the boys were kicking around was kicked in his direction, making the boy's head come up sharply with surprise as he watched as the boys chase it towards him. But then when they saw the small Gaara, they froze. Their shouts of excitement died immediately and it grew rather quiet in the park as eyes began to turn towards them and the small boy. Even the other children who weren't even playing with the boys. The girls even topped picking flowers to look over. All eyes grew wide at the sight of the young red head as he hopped off of his swing and moved towards the ball. He had left his bear lying on the swing, as if it was watching the scene. The small Gaara went over to the ball before picking it up and looking at it as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. The other children just murmured nervously or looked at one another.

The older Gaara's eyes just narrowed as his head dipped down lower. He remembered this memory. He remembered how these kids treated him and how he didn't like it. Ibiki must have felt the mood because he turned to glance down at the red head Genin before turning his eyes back onto the scene before him.

The small Gaara looked up from the ball before taking a few steps towards the boys, a very faint smile on his face. The boys stepped back as if he was the most dangerous animal though. They looked terrified of him. But the small boy didn't pay any attention. Instead, he held up the ball towards the older boys. "Hi. Can I play too?" Came his very soft, young voice.

The very minute the words were out of his mouth, children leapt up and bolted away, as if he was very dangerous. "Run! It's the bad boy! My parents said that he's a monster!" Someone yelled in fear as they ran.

Hearing those words cut into Gaara's heart; both of them.

The young boy's eyes widened in surprise and pain as he watched children run from the park away from him. There were still a few bold children though that stayed. The pink haired girl watching him was still crouching in the sand box watching as the older boys who managed to find the courage to even approach the young six year old. The boys just walked right up to the small Gaara before one snatched the ball away from him and another shoved him away.

"Stupid little brat! Don't touch our ball! You'll get your monster germs all over it!" The one who shoved him snapped.

The little Gaara fell onto his rear after being shoved back but he was quickly on his feet again. He looked up at the boys now starting to surround him with fear. They were making faces at him and jabbing at him with their fingers. The older Gaara wanted nothing more to just walk right up to the boys and shove them away from his past self. But before he could even try, not that it would make a difference, a timid but angry voice broke into his thoughts.

"Leave him alone! He didn't do anything to you!"

Both Gaaras, the boys and Ibiki turned their heads to see the pink haired girl now moving towards them, glaring at the boys. Her pink hair fell around her face, trying to hide her wide forehead while her bright green eyes just flashed angrily at the boys. She looked furious that they were picking on him. Gaara remembered that this was the first time he had actually seen Sakura Haruno. And it was at the time where she wasn't friends with Ino Yamanaka yet.

The boys, however, just started laughing when they saw her. They obviously knew who she was because they moved away from Gaara and pointed at her. "Hey! It's Billboard brow Haruno! Hey! Haruno! Is your forehead big enough?" One laughed harshly.

The pink haired girl flinched as if they had thrown something at her. Her eyes were filling with large tears as she cringed away from them. So obviously the forehead remark bit at her hard. And it was in her eyes that both Gaaras saw the same pain that he felt as a child. She was sad and lonely because no one was nice to her just because of her big forehead.

"Hey!" One of the boys laughed before picking up a stone and tossing it up and down. "Who bets that I can hit her forehead with this rock?" He said before cocking it back to throw it.

The small Gaara's face suddenly darkened when the small Sakura's eyes widened in fear as the boy was about to let the rock fly. He looked very angry and initially he was. The bigger Gaara and Ibiki watched as the small boy launched himself forward and shoved the boy hard from behind, which caused the stone to fly off in a whole different direction from the girl, who looked just as startled as he did.

The bigger boy hit the ground rather hard while his friends spun around in alarm, looking at the small one as he breathed rather hard while glaring at them. "Leave her alone." The small boy growled at them, while wisps of sand began to swirl around him. They began to back away from him with fear in their eyes. They didn't know if they should just run or fight this brat. But then they decided to fight him. With dark looks in their eyes, they launched forward with fists yanked back.

However, before they could touch him, sand shot out all around the young boy, lashing out at them and sending them flying back onto their rear ends. The young boy looked just as shocked as the boys had before he saw blood starting to trail down their faces and arms. The sand had cut into them, yet they were just mere scratches and not too serious.

"AHHH! Run! He's a monster!" The boys yelled as they leapt to their feet and began running away from him.

The young Gaara shook his head as he eyed the sand all around him with shock before he looked after the boys with pain and held out a hand stretched out after them. "No! Wait! I didn't mean…" He was saying but this caused the sand to chase after them without him meaning it to.

The sand almost reached the boys if there hadn't come sudden black flash and a Leaf Ninja landed in between the sand and the boys, knocking the sand away. It cut into his hands a little but he didn't seem phased. It wasn't a ninja that Gaara knew but it didn't really matter. This was the only time he had ever seen this ninja. He had blocked the sand from reaching the boys while glaring at the young red head.

"Get out of here, kids!" The Leaf ninja yelled at the boys, who did not even hesitated. They just ran as fast as they could.

But the pink haired girl didn't move. She looked very terrified but concerned for the small Gaara. Her eyes met the young Gaara's when he realized she hadn't gone. "Bu-but…." She murmured looking afraid. "He….he didn't….di-didn't do anything…."

The Leaf Ninja whirled around and glared at her, while waving a hand at her. "Just leave, brat!" He snapped.

The pink haired girl flinched before she turned and dashed away with tears spilling down her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder only once to look at the small Gaara before she was gone. Then the small Gaara looked up at the Leaf ninja as he quickly approached with a kunai raised. He just shook his head as he stepped back with fear in his eyes. "I….I wa-was…I was only trying….tr-trying to de-defend…" The young boy stammered.

"You little monster!" The ninja snarled before starting to swing his kunai to slash the boy, who rose his arm to defend himself.

There came a very heavy thud in front of Gaara before the ninja cried out in pain as he hit the ground hard. The young Gaara lowered his arm looking up with shock only to see the backside of Jiraiya. The large white haired ninja was standing over the boy, glaring angrily at the ninja who was no one the ground holding his cheek where the Legend had punched him. There was a growing bruise already starting to show its ugly self on his face.

However, one thing that caught both Gaaras' attention was that Jiraiya's right hand was bleeding. It was probably due to the fact that there was a kunai stuck into it. It startled the young red head but it didn't seem to bother the Legendary ninja at all.

"I told you," Jiraiya spoke in a very dangerous tone. "To leave Gaara alone! I warned you at the meeting this morning that if you came near him to cause him any harm that I would interfere, Ryu!"

The Ninja forced himself to his feet while glaring at the Sanin and holding a hand to his cheek. He looked like he wasn't happy at all that Jiraiya had stopped him. "Master Jiraiya! That thing is a monster! He doesn't belong here! He deserves to die!" He exclaimed.

The look on Jiraiya's face was rather murderous and disappointed all at once. He looked as if he was trying to decide to kill this brat or lecture his ears off. But he settled for something else. Instead of saying anything at all, he reached up and yanked the kunai out of his hand before slamming his injured hand against the ground, whereas an explosion of smoke. From the ground rose up a very large toad, with both Jiraiya and the startled small Gaara standing on its back. The ninja stepped back in alarm but couldn't do anything as the toad lashed out a sticky tongue at him, hitting him so hard that it sent him flying into the trees and knocking him out.

After a moment, the toad was gone again, leaving Jiraiya standing over the tiny boy, who kept his eyes lowered. The young boy looked rather hurt on what was said but he didn't spare a glance at his Guardian. "Gaara, you all right?" The white haired man asked.

"…..yes." The boy murmured.

Jiraiya sighed before he bent down before the tiny boy while now sucking on his bleeding hand and then spitting out the blood onto the grass. "Hey, hey. I know its unsettling to having someone trying to hurt…"

"Why does everyone hate me, Jiraiya?" The small Gaara suddenly blurted out with tears starting to flood his teal eyes. "Why does everyone…..wh-why does everyone hate and fear me?! What did I ever do?! I don't understand!"

There was a long silence as Jiraiya watched as tears fell from his young ward's eyes before his face softened into a look of pity. He knew that Gaara hated getting pity from anyone but he really couldn't help it. He just lowered his bleeding hand to his side and reached up with his other one, wiping the young boy's cheeks. "They just don't understand you, Gaara. Everyone fears something that they don't understand. And they're too pig-headed to even try to understand you." He said softly before patting him on the head. "Not like I understand you. Just relax, buddy boy. Someday, you'll show them. You'll show them that you aren't just something to fear but something to love. It's just your power that they're scared of. It's something that just makes them nervous."

The young Gaara looked down but then turned his eyes up onto the white haired ninja, looking almost frantic about what was just said. "So…if I don't use the sand, will everyone like me? Should I never use it again?" he asked, almost pleadingly.

The older Gaara saw Ibiki react to that. He glanced up to see that the Jounin step back a little surprised that the young Gaara had said that. So obviously he hadn't been expecting that. This brought a smirk to the Genin's face before he looked back his past self in front of Jiraiya. He knew what was about to be said again.

Jiraiya just looked softly at Gaara as he shook his head. "No, Gaara. Don't stop using it. Use it as you like. But just use it to protect people you care about. Never hurt people with them unless they mean your precious ones harm. Use it to protect them and yourself. And just be yourself."

"Jiraiya…." The small boy asked eyeing the Legend's wounds painfully. Jiraiya blinked in surprise but then nodded for him to go on. The young boy just dipped his head lower as he looked sad. "I'm….I'm sorry you were hurt because of me. Does…..does it hurt bad?" He asked.

The white haired ninja blinked in surprise before looking at his cut up hand. He stared at it before he looked back at the pained look on Gaara's face. His face softened as he watched him. He smiled faintly before nodding. "Just a little. But don't you fret, kiddo. Not over these scratches. They weren't caused by you. They were caused by that idiot over there." He threw his uninjured thumb over his shoulder at the fallen ninja. "What would hurt the most, Gaara," He stated, catching the young red head's attention. "Is if you got hurt. I would never forgive myself if you ever got hurt and I was right there watching it. I chose to get hurt because I wanted to protect my most precious person." He grinned as he tapped the small boy on the nose, making his lips curve upward. "Yeah! That's what I want to see! I want to see you smile and don't you ever forget that!"

The small boy's curved upward even more into a full smile which made the white haired ninja bellow with laughter before he scooped him up with his unhurt arm. "Now, let's go get this hand fixed." Jiraiya said.

But the red head's eyes flashed with realization before he began wriggling out of his arms. "Jiraiya! There's something I have to do first! There's someone I want to thank for standing up for me!" He told him brightly. Jiraiya frowned but then set him down as the young red head hurried over to a bunch of flowers and began picking them. "Hmm? What are you doing, Gaara?"

"I heard that girls like flowers as thank you presents. So I'm giving her flowers!" Gaara said as he began picking pink and white flowers. Jiraiya blinked in surprise before grinning again. "Oh, this I got to see."

The memory changed a little, showing the small Gaara hurrying down the street before climbing up onto a porch and standing there. The older Gaara and Ibiki could see Jiraiya hovering in an alley where the small boy had told him to wait. He had wanted to do this by himself. So with a grin, Jiraiya leaned against the wall and watched as the young red head just stood there.

The young Gaara just stood there holding the flowers in his hand before swallowed hard and knocked on the door. He looked rather nervous though about what he was doing.

What made things even funnier was how a woman's voice called to someone else to answer the door. And when a very soft voice called back saying "Okay!", the young red head panicked, before placing the flowers on the porch and bolting back towards a now rumbling with laughter Jiraiya. The young Gaara quickly ducked behind his Guardian and peered around his leg just as the door opened, revealing the young pink haired girl, who looked surprised that there was no one there. She glanced around before looking down to see the flowers. She blinked several times then bent down picking them up. She stared at them before her lips curved upward into a smile as she looked around. Her eyes paused over at the laughing white haired ninja and noticed how the young red head was peering around his leg at her. She smiled at him before waving, which caused him to duck behind Jiraiya, who laughed only harder.

And then the memory ended.

Gaara and Ibiki suddenly found their selves in the dark desert again with a very angry and scowling Shukaku. The Jounin was smirking as he glanced down at the Genin, who was slightly blushing at the memory. 'Well, at least we know who he likes now. And why he likes her.' He thought. Then he lift his head. "Interesting."

"Just forget that memory." Gaara scowled at him, his arms folded over his chest. "She didn't even remember me after that anyway."

Ibiki just smirked before he shook his head and rose a hand. "Kai."

Suddenly Gaara found himself released from Ibiki's technique and he was sitting back near the Forest of Death again. He almost fell over at the sudden release but then he realized that Ibiki was calling back all of his Chakra out of him.

The very second the Chakra was out, the red head was suddenly on his feet and leaping away from where he had just been sitting when a Kunai sank into the ground where he had been. Even Ibiki had to jump back before he whirled around and glared at Anko who was grinning madly now. "Anko!" The Jounin snapped annoyed.

"Ooooh! He's good. No wonder he's survived this long in the Chuunin Exams." The savage woman said as she climbed to her feet.

Ibiki just glared at her as Gaara did. Both were not amused at the sudden attack. Especially how they had just been snapping right out of Ibiki's technique. "Anko, you could have hit either one of us." Ibiki growled at her. Anko nodded as she moved over and grabbed her kunai then stuffed it into her belt. "I know. That was the idea." She stated, only getting a very nasty look from her superior ninja. "All right! It's my turn, Bloody Bob!"

Gaara glared even harder at her, which she ignored either way.

"All right, demon boy!" Anko began, ignoring the even harsher look from the red head. "I'm here to help you stay on your toes. I'll be keeping you in shape! You and me are going to go head to head in a fight until you can beat me in battle. And you are not to use your sand at all. Actually, you are going to keep your sand from protecting you. Seeing that the sand is why you hardly ever get hurt, it's because of Shukaku. So I will attack you, but you are to defend yourself without your sand."

Gaara frowned at the sound of that. He didn't know if that would work though. Nor what to even say about it. He wasn't even sure if it was possible because of Shukaku. The sand always reacted on it's own when he was attacked, actually. But the question that he did want answered was could he defend himself without his sand? He guess he could try it.

However, by the end of the day, Gaara was sure that he had never been so sore in his life, other than the time he used too much Chakra while fighting Zabuza and having to fight with Shukaku from taking control. He had pretty much strained his entire body and used up all of his Chakra while trying to keep his sand away. While training with Anko, he found out that fighting her was not only dangerous but insane. She was almost completely mad while charging at him, lashing out at him with Taijutsu. Her punches and kicks were so swift, it was almost like dodging a viper before it tried to bite him. She was almost as fast as Rock Lee when he had even taken off those weights during their match. She even kept her hands straight and stiff like knives while striking out at him.

Gaara had to use all of his speed and energy to dodge her attacks and keeping her from killing him, while trying to keep his sand away. It was very hard though. His sand didn't even obey him when he ordered it to stay away. Anko only tsked at him when he failed to do it. Now and then, she struck him with her hands, which she didn't hit him enough to penetrate his skin but it was enough to leave bruises on him. Either way, it was some pretty rough training.


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

The first week of training with Ibiki and Anko had been very rough on Gaara. He found himself rather exhausted, even with all of the meditating sessions with the Jounin. It was probably because of Shukaku. The demon was not making things easier for him. Every time he tried to meditate, Shukaku kicked up a very nasty sand storm inside Gaara's head. The storms were bad enough to make the red haired Genin wince visibly so that Ibiki would see it. There were several times that the Jounin would narrow his eyes in distrust as he watched the boy struggle with his demon. It never even helped when Shukaku decided to push all of his bad memories forward while he meditated. Gaara tried to push back, of course. But the demon was so much stronger than he was.

"You may be a very skilled ninja," Ibiki stated on the fifth day of training with him and Anko. He had just watched Gaara struggling to meditate and the demon inside him just caused him a bigger headache. "Due to that demon inside of you, but your not very good at meditating."

Gaara gave the Jounin a very dark look for his remark. He was starting to lose his patience but knew it was no use. "I'm trying my best." He growled right at the Jounin, who narrowed his eyes at him.

Ibiki just shook his head, looking as if he was losing his own patience with the boy. He obviously didn't have patience with him as it was. "You're best isn't good enough! Stop making excuses and make progress!" He growled right back. Gaara glared at him but tried again.

And if the conflicts with Ibiki weren't enough, Anko was getting a little impatient with him as well. She was rather vicious while training with him, moving in and out of his sand when it defended him, even though he would end up sweating heavily while trying to shove it back. She would look at him rather lazily as if he was just a weak brat who was asking the most obvious questions. She didn't snap at him as much as Ibiki did though. She figured that he was getting enough of that from her superior officer.

There was one thing that would make Ibiki shut up and stop talking to Gaara like he was a criminal and that was when they did his mind reading techniques. He was too interested in seeing the boy's memories, more than just helping him. Gaara had already figured out that was all the Jounin wanted. He didn't like it, of course, but it made him stop snapping at him when he asked to try the mind reading techniques again, claiming that it interested him. It did, truthfully but he hated seeing the memories that he was forced to remember. Sometimes, the three of them would train until it was very dark, yet Gaara kept on asking to keep training. Though now and then Ibiki and Anko refused. Unlike the Genin, they needed sleep.

But as the training grew fierce, strange things were happening. There were times that a few accidents would happen that could have caused Gaara great harm, like a very large tree branch falling from above, nearly landing on him if not for his quick reflexes. And judging by the looks on Anko and Ibiki's faces, they hadn't caused it to happen. And if that wasn't enough, while training with Anko, a beehive full of Poisonous bees fell from above and nearly landed on Anko's head while chasing Gaara around the clearing. If it hadn't been Gaara's quick reflexes, and his sand, she would have gotten severely hurt. Her and Ibiki. Gaara had quickly surrounded the three of them with his sand, keeping the bees from stinging them before capturing them with sand, then sent them off somewhere else so it wasn't so dangerous for them anymore.

The accidents grew pretty suspicious though. There were too many happening while they were training and Ibiki didn't like it. He felt as if Gaara was the one responsible but he wasn't entirely sure. He didn't want to take the chance though. So he went to report to the Hokage about how the training was going.

And of course, Kakashi had been there to hear it.

"Ibiki! Why in the world would Gaara cause these accidents? Especially the poisonous bees? He's not like that. He would never do anything to harm anyone for no reason." Kakashi said, somewhat annoyed. Ibiki only frowned at him but shook his covered head at him as his arms folded over his wide chest. "He probably knocked down the hive so to harm Anko. She has been pretty hard on him." He said, his voice layered with dislike. Anko shot him a dark look though. She hadn't liked that at all. "And you haven't, Ibiki?!" She asked harshly. "You're the one who's going through his head, pulling all of the bad memories out of him, just to see how big of a threat he is!" She shook her head. None of the room's occupants interrupted, even though the Hokage probably should have. He just listened as Ibiki and his former student's student squabbled.

Ibiki just frowned at Anko, tilting his head away from her. "Anko, why are you even arguing with me anyway? The demon child tried to hurt..." He was saying.

Anko scoffed very loudly as she placed her hand onto her waist, looking very annoyed with her superior. "Oh, right!" She then held up a hand and suddenly transformed into a very adorable looking Gaara, though instead of the Kanji word for Love, there was a heart on her forehead. She looked so chibish though, something that definitely did not suit Gaara at all. "Oh! What should I do today to piss off Ibiki Morino because I'm a cute little monster? Hmm?" She said, in a very cute voice. "Oh! I know! Let's drop a freaking bee hive on Anko's head!" she then pretended to pluck something out of the air before throwing it. Then she placed a very alarmed but cute look on her face. "Oh! Wait! If I do this, I will get into trouble I should save Ankie and Ibi!" She said before rushing over and throwing her arms around Ibiki, only to get roughly shoved away from him.

"Knock it off, Anko!" growled Ibiki.

With an explosion of smoke, Anko transformed back into her original form, while giving Ibiki a very annoyed look. She folded her arms over her curvy chest and shook her head at him. "The only reason I think that GAARA, not the demon boy, would even want to drop a bee hive on your scarred head, Ibiki, is because you are being way too mean to him. Me, I'm training with him. He knows I'm not trying to kill him or anything. You? You are just a very mean bastard who can't cut the KID a break." She snapped.

"All right! That's enough, you two." The Hokage finally decided to intervene. He wasn't looking to amused that the two Jounin were squabbling like this.

Ibiki gave him an apologetic bow of his head before looking very serious again. "The point is, Hokage-sama, this KID," He paused to shoot Anko a look, whom gave him a very rude hand sign with her right hand. "is either causing the accidents, or someone else is. The accidents are not accidents at all. I don't know who is responsible but someone is going to get hurt if this continues." He told the Hokage.

Kakashi shook his head as he folded his arms, looking very moody in deed. "Gaara wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone, Ibiki. Not if he could help it. He's too...innocent for that." He said, before pulling a face, knowing that was probably the wrong word to say.

"Innocent?" Ibiki growled at the masked Jounin. "Kakashi! He's spilt blood! He's killed a lot of people!"

Kakashi looked dryly at him but shook his head. He wanted to argue. He had to argue Gaara's case. He knew that Gaara had killed, but it hadn't exactly been his fault. "Ibiki, when Gaara made his first kill, it was because the Mist Ninja, Haku had been an enemy at the time and he was threatening his friends' lives. Haku had nearly killed Sasuke. And it just affected..." He was saying.

But now the Hokage decided to interrupt. "Kakashi, it is not just Haku that he killed." He said grimly. "You remember the reports from the ANBU patrolling the Forest of Death. Panther and Wolf had both stated that they saw Gaara lose complete control over Shukaku while he was separated from his team. He killed over half of the teams, and none of them were from the Leaf Village. True, that in the Chuunin exams there are deaths. But not by just one young ninja." He shook his head with a sigh before holding up a hand when Kakashi opened his mouth to say something. "Kakashi, I know you are greatly concerned for your student. And I'm fully aware that it was Shukaku who was at fault for all of those deaths. But if the other villages find out that it was he who killed their ninja, there will be trouble. They will find out that we are harboring not one demon but two and that could declare war against the Leaf Village. We, the Hidden Leaf Village, have too much power on our hands and they will think we are preparing a campaign a war against the other countries. You know as well as I do, Kakashi, that they will think this."

Kakashi did not reply but he knew that the Hokage had a point. A village in possession of two bijuus was way too dangerous as it was. He knew that if the other Kages found out about Gaara and Naruto, that would be the first thing on their minds.

"However, we can not place the blame entirely on Gaara, Ibiki." The Hokage went on, making all look at him. "Therefore, without proof, there will be no punishment against Gaara. It bothers me that someone is trying to harm you, Anko or Gaara, but we must not blame him until we know. Keep your eye out for the culprit. If it truly is foul play, bring the one responsible forward and I will question them him or her myself."

Ibiki and Anko nodded as they bowed at the waist before starting to head towards the door. But before they reached it, Kakashi moved forward and stopped them. "Ibiki, if you don't believe me about Gaara, why don't you just talk to him other than just searching his head for his memories? Watch his eyes. You'll understand what I mean." He told him before he suddenly vanished into a puff of smoke. The large scarred Jounin pulled a face before waving the smoke out of his face. "Geez, I know Kakashi is training the Uchiha, but seriously! Sending a Clone as a replacement to an important meeting in his place, the nerve." He growled. Anko just cackled with laughter while the Hokage just smiled and shook his head.

The next few days had been a little better for Gaara, though he was starting to realize that Ibiki was awfully quiet around him. The large ninja hardly barked at him or said anything to him while he meditated or they did his mind reading technique. And what made Gaara frown the most was when Ibiki chose to stop looking at the bad memories of what Shukaku did and watched the good memories. He even chose to look at some of the dull ones, which weren't that exciting. But still, he was interested in them. It made the red head wonder what was bothering the Jounin so much but he never bothered to ask. Gaara was getting a long with Anko quite well. She greeted him very enthusiastically in the mornings before attempting to kill him, even though she called it training. The thing that got to him the most though was the fact that his sand would not obey his commands. He tried and he tried and he tried to keep it away from them while they were training. He really couldn't see what the whole point was in this anyway. His sand reacted on its own because of Shukaku. So why couldn't he use his sand to defend himself in battle?

And who the hell just ducked behind that tree just now?

Gaara nearly got clubbed in the head by Anko's fist, which to his surprise the sand didn't come up to protect him, but his arm sure did. He quickly blocked Anko's own arm before sending a palm hitting her chest, knocking her away from him. Both out of breath, they bent over to catch it while the brown haired Jounin laughed darkly at him. "Well, you are getting better to blocking the attacks on your own, that's for sure." She said breathlessly before shrugging. "Take a break, kid. It's lunch time anyway."

The red head just nodded before going over to where his gourd was sitting. He had made sure to pack a few things to eat for lunch. It was mostly fruit but he had packed a bento box too. He also made sure to pack a canteen full of water to drink. Glancing over, he found Ibiki and Anko now bickering about something, which made him roll his eyes. They had been like that for about a week now. He wondered what had them so ruffled up. However, as he sat down to eat his lunch, he sensed movement again, making him tilt his head off to the side where it came from. He didn't see anything now, by listening hard, he heard someone now running away into the forest. Frowning with his eyes narrowed, he rose a hand to have a Sand clone sit in his place while he went to investigate.

Hurrying through the trees after whoever it was, Gaara waved his hand and sent his sand out after whoever it was just to stop them from running. It took only a few mere seconds before he felt it collide with something and wrap around whatever, or whoever it was. A scream of fear and alarm came back to his ears making him tense before he doubled he speed to find out who it was. He quickly approached the clearing where his sand had someone trapped and froze when he saw who it was.

The girl from Rock Lee's team, Tenten.

Tenten looked terrible though. She was wearing black pants and a white halter top, yet it looked very ruffled as if she had been sleeping in it for a day or two now and her dark brown hair was somewhat in it's two buns but was also falling out of them. But the look on her face was the worst. She had tear streaks running down her cheeks, nearly soaking her entire face. And it wasn't fear or sadness that Gaara saw in her eyes. There was rage, pain and hatred. Something he was so used to seeing on people's faces. She was pissed about something and it didn't take Gaara more than three seconds to figure out why. He knew it had to be Lee she was angry about.

So with a forlorn look on his face, he flicked his wrist and the sand fell away from Tenten's arms and legs, releasing her and pulling back into his gourd. He then turned his back onto her, his head bowed down a little. "...I know why you're here." he said quietly.

"Oh do you?!" Tenten demanded as she balled up her fists and glared at the red head.

Gaara kept his back to her, his eyes almost closed with thought. He didn't want to look at her. He didn't want to see the look of hate on her face, even though he was used to it. His head falling a little lower, he sighed and turned his head away from her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt Rock Lee. Not like that. I lost control." He murmured.

Tenten snorted as if that had been the wrong thing to say. She just slapped her hands over her waist and moved forward so that she could stand in front of him. "You're sorry?! And you lost control?! Do you honestly think that sorry is going to help Lee?! He's in the worst shape! He can barely stand up on his own! He falls over every time he tries and he keeps trying! He won't stop trying to get up when he should be resting! It hurts him so bad! He is constantly drugged on painkillers but he just won't stop! And I have to see that pain on his face all time when I go see him! I have never seen him like this before!" She yelled at him angrily. "He just won't stop trying to get back in shape when he should be sleeping! He's working so hard to get his strength back but he won't get it back! He just keeps pushing himself to recover! But he's not going to recover! And do you know why?!"

"...Because I hurt him." Gaara murmured quietly.

Tenten shook her head so hard that her hair nearly fell out of its buns and then she stomped her foot hard against the forest ground. "You didn't hurt him, Gaara! You ruined him! You've destroyed Rock Lee!" She practically spat at him. "He was going to be the World's Best Taijutsu Specialist and now...He can't even do 100 push ups when he used to do 5000!" More tears flooded her eyes as she glared at the red head, who turned slightly away from her. "Don't you understand?! You've killed Rock Lee by killing his dreams!" She yelled.

Gaara didn't reply. He couldn't say anything. He knew that if he did, it wouldn't help at all. So he kept his mouth shut and his eyes cast to the forest floor. But as he stood there listening to Tenten's words, he felt a very sharp ache in his chest. It wasn't exactly like all of the usual aches he felt when he had watched families together. It was something else. Something he had never felt before. It felt so...bad. It was like someone had just stabbed him in the chest with a kunai. And he couldn't even describe it at all. "...what is this?" He found himself ask.

Tenten heard him before she rolled her eyes impatiently and shook her head. "What is what?!" she demanded.

Gaara shook his head slowly before reaching up and grabbing at his chest, clutching his shirt. He winced a little when the pain grew sharper. It hurt so much. He just looked down at his chest, trying to see if he had been struck by something or not. He couldn't see the blade that he felt there. "...This...pain. What is this feeling of something stabbing me here?" His eyes crinkled in pain as he gripped his shirt tighter in his fist. "I...feel it all the time when people look at me like that." He said as his teal eyes slowly lift up and he looked at Tenten right in the eye, who's eyes widened when she saw the look in his eyes.

Surprised, Tenten stepped back as if she had been burned or as if he was flashing a kunai at her. She looked confused and alarmed about the way he was looking at her but she had recognized that look. She had seen it once before. In Rock Lee's eyes when she first met him as they became apart of Gai's team. She could see that she might have gone a little too far this time. But before she could say anything, Gaara was going in a flash of golden sand.

For the remainder of the day, Gaara had been rather quiet while training with Anko. He didn't do much to blocking her moves and that just made her slow down a bit, looking confused. She saw that he was distracted by something and it seemed pretty bad. She frowned as she slowed to a halt before glancing over at Ibiki who was watching Gaara very closely with his eyes narrowed. He had been like that since Gaara returned from where ever he had gone. They had known he had taken off during the lunch break. They weren't stupid. But when the boy returned, Ibiki had spent most of the time staring at him with narrowed eyes. It was a look that Anko knew that he was trying to figure something out. When it grew rather late, Anko called it quits and took off back towards the village, leaving Gaara with Ibiki. Gaara, however, started to gather up his gourd so that he could go home but stopped when Ibiki stepped into his path, holding up a hand for him to wait. The red head frowned, giving the large ninja a confused look but Ibiki shook his head and motioned for the boy to sit back down.

Frowning, Gaara did but was surprised when Ibiki sank down on the grass right next to him, looking off into the trees. He hadn't been expecting this. It also made him feel a little uneasy to have him so close to him.

There was a very long silence between the two, both sitting in the darkness, staring off into the night. Gaara would glance now and then up at Ibiki as he stared off towards the dark trees with a thoughtful look in his eyes. It reminded him a little of Jiraiya when he started thinking like that. And thinking of Jiraiya made the red haired Genin's stomach twist a little. He really wished he was here right about now. Maybe he could tell him what to do about Rock Lee and the ache he was feeling.

"Guilt." Ibiki suddenly spoke up.

Gaara blinked out of his thoughts, looking up at the large ninja with surprise and confusion. He didn't know where that came from. He hadn't been expecting it. "Huh?" He asked softly.

Ibiki tilted his head towards the young Genin now, looking at him almost softly, yet there was also a stoic look in his eye. "The pain in your chest. It's called guilt. I know what it feels like because I've felt it before. Guilt and loneliness are one of the most ugliest feelings for a person to feel. You're hurting from neglect, rejection and what you did to Gai's student, Rock Lee." He paused to see the confused but alarmed look on Gaara's face, which brought a smirk to his own. "Do you honestly think that you could fool Anko and me with a Sand clone? I think not. We're not Jounin for nothing. I followed you, leaving my own clone behind with Anko. I saw and heard you with Gai's other student, the girl." He paused again when he saw the red haired sand user look away. "You've been alone all your life, haven't you? With the exception of Jiraiya, of course. So it hurts you a little."

Gaara just kept his eyes adverted away from Ibiki. He didn't know how to reply. He knew what pain Ibiki was talking about. The pain he was feeling now in his chest. He had felt this pain most of his life, though there were times when he was with Jiraiya or his teammates. Naruto had been his first and best friend, so it helped a lot when he was around. Sakura…..well, he liked her enough due to the fact that she was the very first person, other than Jiraiya to ever have stood up for him. Even if she didn't remember him from their childhood, he remembered her. Sasuke was more a rival to Gaara. He considered him as a comrade and that was basically it. He wasn't entirely sure if he could count the raven-haired boy as a friend or not. And he had no idea what Kakashi was to him. He could count the Jounin as a friend, after all, he did look after him and helped him during the Wave mission. But still….he felt the pain of loss of a family.

However, something snapped Gaara right out of his thoughts. Something big and heavy patting him on the head. Surprised, he looked up to see Ibiki patting him on the head with a faint smile on his face. "Kid, you're really not that bad. Now, why don't I show you something? Relax." He said, now placing his hand onto Gaara's forehead. Gaara instantly knew that they were about to do the mind reading technique. So he relaxed and closed his eyes. Instantly, he felt Ibiki started to push his Chakra into his head, connecting their minds together.

However, they did find their selves in Gaara's dark desert. No, they were actually in a forest, near a beautiful waterfall, looking up at two large statues. It was a strange looking place but not familiar at all to Gaara. What was stranger, there was no sound of water falling from the falls. And like his own mind, there were balls of light surrounding them. But unlike Gaara's mind, there were nearly a million of them. There were so many white ones, yet, there were a lot of red memories, the bad ones. And what was a little heart wrenching was there was very little golden memories. So by the looks of it, Ibiki did not have very many memories he treasured. But there were a few.

"This is my own mind." Ibiki stated as they stood side by side, hid dark eyes looking everything over. He was quiet for a long time before turning to face the boy. He watched Gaara for a moment before he looked up at a red memory in the farthest corner. "Let me show you something that I've done in my life. It's one of the worst memories I have." He told the boy. Gaara felt a little uneasy about this but didn't say anything. He was curious about what Ibiki wanted to show him.

A second later, the memory opened up just it had when they saw Gaara's memories. The memory, as far as he could tell, took place a long time ago, somewhere around when Gaara was still very young, maybe nine.

The memory started off rather sad. Gaara saw a young 13-year-old boy sitting in the same room that he and the other Leaf rookies had taken the exams. He was a young and handsome fellow with dark brown hair, long enough to pull back, though his eyes was bright blue, and almost as blue was Naruto's. He was wearing tan pants and a light blue long sleeve shirt. He looked very antsy and nervous for the last question, for it was no doubt that time. And standing at the front of the room was, what surprised Gaara, a slightly younger version of Ibiki. This version startled Gaara a little. He actually had dark brown hair peering under his bandana forehead protector. He was a little hansom with one long scar on his right cheek. It had been at a time that he had not been scarred so terribly. He was wearing similar clothing as he did the nowadays. And it was no doubt he was the Proctor for the Selection Exam.

By the looks of it, they had finally reached the 10th question and everyone was looking very antsy. The boy especially. He looked very excited and was nervous all at once, looking up at the very calm and collected Younger Ibiki.

Off to Gaara's side, he saw the older Ibiki shaking his head with a look on his face. It immediately told the red head that things were about to get very ugly. The Young Ibiki was speaking to the Genin, explaining almost the same thing that he said during Gaara's Chuunin exam. But there was something else that he said. Something about all of the Genin being against his or her teammates. That's when it hit Gaara when he listened to what was being said. He didn't realize it until the very last second though.

"All those who remained sitting," The cool Jounin said, narrowing his eyes at all of those who stayed. Only very few had left the room. "You all fail!"

Everyone in the room jumped to their feet with an explosion of outrage. The boy that Ibiki, both of them, had been staring at, looked horrified and betrayed. The look in his eyes were full of pain, shock, and anger as he gazed at the Proctor. He looked as if his closest friend had just stabbed him in the back.

And as the Young Ibiki turned and swept out of the room, the boy shot to his feet and chased after him.

"Ibiki! What was that?! Why?! Why did you…..?! Why?!" The boy cried out as he burst out of the room after the Jounin. Ibiki stopped in the middle of the hall but did not turn around. He just kept his back to the young Genin, his face very emotionless and his eyes hard. "It was a double bluff. Those who put their selves before the team don't deserve to be ninja." He said as if it was the most obvious thing to say. It was like he didn't care that he had just hurt the boy's feelings at all.

The boy's eyes widened with disbelief and hurt. He shook his head as he stared at Ibiki with pain then threw out his hand to the side. "B-but that's not fair, Ibiki! All of those ninja…me! Ibiki! How could you do that?! How could you do that to me?!" He asked in great pain.

"What's not fair, Idate?" Ibiki asked dryly as he turned around and looked at him sharply. "What is not fair? That you will you never be a ninja again? You made the choice. You chose to stay and risk your team. I told you and everyone that the answer was against your team. A true ninja would have seen right through that bluff. If you couldn't see that, you're not good enough to be Shinobi." He said rather harshly before he turned and walked away, leaving a very angry and hurt boy.

The memory faded and changed into a different setting. It was late night and the young version of Ibiki was running through the trees with two ANBU next to him. He looked so angry and confused about something. But there was some worry in his dark eyes. He was seriously worried about something while cursing under his breath.

But soon enough, Gaara got to see what he was running towards as Ibiki threw his hand out forward. Two thick black chains seemed to shoot right out of his hands and wrapped around the boy's legs when they finally came to the clearing, tripping him. It was the boy, Idate again.

"Idate!" Ibiki yelled as he dropped down behind the boy with the ANBU. The boy spun around, looking wide eyed up at him, and terrified out of his wits. But Ibiki just glared down at him. "Idate, you idiot! Are you insane?! What are you doing?! Do you know how serious this crime is?!" He yelled at him as he placed his fists onto his waist.

"Ib-Ibiki!" Idate gasped in fear and surprise of him. "I…I'm….I'm sorry! I di-didn't mean t-to!"

Ibiki's eyes narrowed at the boy but before he could reply anything to him, the two ANBU with him were struck down by black senbons. He whirled around and looked at his companions with alarm before his head snapped upward to see a Leaf ninja standing upside down. "Aoi Rokusho?!"

Aoi Rokusho was about the same age as Ibiki, with dark green hair and violate colored eyes. He wore the same uniform that a Chuunin would, so obviously he wasn't the same rank as Ibiki. He was holding six black needles his hand, looking ready to throw them.

The Young Ibiki looked like he was about to charge to fight this Leaf Ninja but stopped when he noticed that he was out numbered by many Rain ninja, who seemed to be working along with Aoi.

"So strict, Ibiki, and so cruel. Even to your own poor, little but cowardly brother. How shameful of you. I wouldn't want to be your brother at all." Aoi said in a taunting way. "But then again, I'm lucky that Idate is your brother. Because I just got what I wanted. Both of the Morino Brothers. Or should I say, the Moron brothers."

The Young Ibiki growled angrily at the Leaf Ninja while the young boy just trembled on the ground, looking up at Aoi with shock and betrayal in his eyes. "A-Aoi-sensei?! Wh-what is….what is this? Wh-why?" He asked in a trembling voice.

Aoi smirked coldly down at the boy before holding up a dark green scroll in his hand, showing it to Ibiki and Idate Morino. "Because only the Hokage and Jounin can read this secret jutsu scroll. So I needed a Jounin to come after my Genin student. And who better than my student's own brother." He said before waving a hand towards the two.

Again, the memory changed. This time, Gaara found himself and Ibiki standing inside a cabin of some sort where something horrible was happening to the Younger Ibiki. He was tied down in a chair while getting brutally tortured by the Leaf traitor, Aoi. The traitor had some kind of electric sword in his hand and was slashing it across Ibiki, electrifying him. The second scar on Ibiki's face was created by the sword's touch. Off to the side, the boy, Idate was also tied down and watching with horror and pain of his brother's torture. Tears were streaming down his face as he was forced to watch.

"Ibiki, just tell me how to read the scroll and I will kill you quickly." Aoi said impatiently after attacking the Jounin savagely for the past hour.

The Young Ibiki just gasped but shook his head wearily before letting it hang. He completely refused to say anything. No matter what the cost. He even told Aoi to go ahead and kill him if he had to. And what was worst, Gaara saw, he even refused to read the scroll when Aoi threatened the life of Idate. "He's a Shinobi. He's willing to die for our village as I am." But the look on Idate's face said otherwise. He looked horrified that his brother would even say that. This only caused Aoi to threaten him more to see if Ibiki meant it. Still, the Jounin refused. "Kill him then. I don't have a coward for a brother." He said, rather dryly while giving Idate a look of disgust. Idate looked very hurt and alarmed at his brother's words. His eyes were wide with pain as he looked right back into Ibiki's.

This only made Aoi angrier as he moved back over to threaten Ibiki some more, but as soon as he got close, the Jounin quickly wrapped his leg around Aoi's, holding him in place before throwing his head up into the Chuunin's, knocking him back until he smashed his head against a clay pot full of oil. Things happened rather fast though that it practically sped right past an astonished Gaara. He watched as Ibiki managed to pull his arms free then threw a kunai at Idate, cutting the ropes binding him. Then he ordered the boy to run away. At first, Idate refused but Ibiki barked at him to take off then he would follow once he finished Aoi off, who climbed to his feet holding his now bleeding forehead.

As ordered, Idate ran out of the cabin when Ibiki managed to light the oil on fire, leaving his brother and his former teacher inside the burning building.

Inside, Aoi had tried to go after Idate, but Ibiki threw himself after the Chuunin, wrapping his arms around his legs to keep him from doing so. That was when there was an explosion within the cabin, no doubt giving Ibiki all of those scars.

Then memory ended.

Ibiki and Gaara returned to the outside world, both facing one another but with their eyes closed. There was a long silence between them before the Jounin stepped back and turned slightly away. Gaara looked up at the Jounin, who had turned his head away from him, looking a whole lot older than he really was. He looked rather tired, but there was a spark of sadness in his eyes.

"Did you mean it?" The red head asked, quietly. And the Jounin looked down at him. "Did you really mean to let that man kill your own brother?"

There was another long silence as Ibiki stared the boy right in the eyes before he turned his head away. His eyes were narrowed slightly in thought but then he sighed. "Yes." He didn't look at Gaara when the boy's face-hardened in disagreement. "And no." Ibiki shook his head as he kept his eyes adverted away from the red haired Genin. "Yes because the most important thing to do was to protect the village. There are more than hundreds of lives depending on us. We can't just save one life and let the entire village be destroyed. But," He turned his eyes back onto Gaara. "I would have not let him die without me fighting for him first. I did everything I could to save him. And it was enough. He lived and the village was safe."

"But where is he?" Gaara asked quietly, tilting his head to the side.

Ibiki shook his head as he looked away again, his eyes full of sadness again. He let out a very long sigh as he turned away from Gaara. "I don't know. I never saw him again. I know he's alive out there, somewhere. He probably thinks I'm dead. And I probably am to him. In a way, I betrayed him while trying not to betray my village. He probably hates me. I wouldn't blame him. But I had to protect the village."

Gaara turned his own head away, a deep frown on his face. "…if you ever saw him again…what would you do?" He asked his voice a little raspy.

"…" Ibiki could not answer that. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he saw Idate again. In truth, he had been angry at Idate when he stolen the secret scroll and the lightning sword of the First Hokage but that was three years ago. His face growing a little hard as he thought about it. "I'd probably smack him over the head for walking away from the village." He smirked when he saw Gaara make a face before his face softened. "Then I'd probably hug him just like Jiraiya hugs you." He told him softly. Now Gaara looked rather surprised at him, only to have a heavy hand pat him on the head. "You're a good kid. We're now done." He told him.

"Huh?" Gaara asked.

Ibiki shook his head as he looked into the red head's eyes with a somewhat soft look. "You're training is done. You've worked very hard and you've managed to do what I needed you to. That goes for the same with Anko. Her goal was actually to make you faster and not depend so much on your sand. Your sand will not always be there to protect you. I heard about your mission in the Land of Waves, when Zabuza Momochi first attacked you. He neutralized your sand by kicking a tidal wave at you, therefore, rendering you defenseless. So Anko's goal was to make sure that you were able to fight without the protection of your sand." He explained then shook his head again. "There is only a few days left till the last Chuunin exam. Try to relax. You've earned it. Why don't you head over to the Konoha river? I hear Jiraiya's over there training, or in his case, peeping." He told him before he turned and left the young boy.


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

However, as soon as Ibiki left him, Gaara did not go home. He just sat there, trying to meditate again. He was very tempted of going to see Jiraiya. He wanted to tell him about what was going on during his training month. He figured he would do that first thing tomorrow. But right at the moment he just wanted to meditate.

However, as he tried, Shukaku began to make things harder on him once again. He began shoving Tenten's words right at him, trying to distract him from what he was trying to do. The demon called up memories of what Gaara and he did to Rock Lee, which came as a blow to the heart once again. It hurt to watch Shukaku crush Lee's arm and leg with his sand over and over again. He wished that the demon would stop. It just hurt the young red head even more.

'Ah, quit fighting it, brat. You're a monster just like me. See?' Shukaku growled with glee as he pushed more memories at Gaara.

Gaara shook his head as he tried hard to concentrate on his meditation. He didn't want to see the memories. But the demon wasn't doing as he asked when he requested that the demon stopped. The sand monster just cackled in his head as he kept it up.

Finally, after watching himself crush Lee's arm and leg for the fiftieth time, Gaara grew way too frustrated and aggravated. He was getting fed up with his inner demon now. So he lashed out at the demon just like Shukaku usually did to him. And sure enough, he struck the demon viciously. There came a snarl in pain from the sand demon. Gaara panted rather heavily from hitting the demon so hard but seemed very satisfied when it didn't hurt so bad when the demon lashed right back at him. "I don't want to hear anymore from you, Shukaku! So shut up! Got it?!" Gaara demanded savagely.

'I got it. I got it. I was just teasing you, kid. Yeesh. Settle down.' Shukaku grumbled before growing very quiet and very still.

Gaara just shook his head as he went back to his meditating. He was still so furious as the demon for his 'teasing' but felt so much better than he had in a while. He had smacked the demon right back for his cruelty. It felt good to get his frustrations out on the demon.

"Gaara?" came a very soft and quiet voice.

Immediately, Gaara's eyes snapped open and he jerked around on his heels. He had already summoned sand out, ready to fling at whoever it was that was intruding on him. He really hoped it wasn't the person who made him lose control over Shukaku during the Second exams. He did not want to kill anyone again. But to his surprise, it wasn't.

It was the Sand Ninja, Yashamaru.

Surprised, Gaara pushed himself to his feet while calling back his sand into his gourd. He didn't hide his surprise from the blonde as he they looked right at each other. "Yashamaru." He murmured softly.

Yashamaru moved closer to Gaara while looking around as if to see if there was anyone else there but then looked right at the red haired Genin with a soft smile. It was almost a very friendly smile. The same that he had given to Gaara before. "Well, well. I got out for a night stroll and look who I find. The one who has been in my thoughts since the Preliminary." He walked over to the stiff Gaara, still smiling. "What are you doing out so late by yourself, Gaara? Why aren't you with your friends?" He asked gently.

Gaara was still a little too surprised to see the blonde Sand Ninja. He wondered what he was doing there. Had he not gone back to the Sand Village? But then he remembered that it was only a few days till the last exam. So they must have come back a little early. Then the question that Yashamaru asked him struck him. "Oh…." His head turned away from the blonde. "I'm training." He said quietly.

"Alone? I would think that you would be with your friends." Yashamaru said with light amusement.

Gaara looked away, his arms folded over his chest. He didn't know exactly how to respond to that. He knew a little of why he was training alone. One mostly had to deal with how he didn't want his friends to find out about Shukaku. Two, because they needed to train on their own. And the last reason, he still could not face Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura of what he had done to Rock Lee. Once again, the pinching sensation of guilt lashed out at his heart, making a pained look curl on his face.

Yashamaru seemed to have seen it though. His face softened a little to concern before he tilted his head to the side. "Was it because of what happened in the Preliminary with the Lee boy?" He asked softly. Gaara only kept his eyes adverted away from the Sand ninja. He couldn't answer. It hurt even thinking about it. However, Yashamaru's face softened a little before he went over to the red haired Genin and patted him gently on the head. "Gaara, you not blame yourself for what happened to that boy. It happened. I know it hurts a little to have done what you did, but it probably needed to be done. I'm sure he would have caused you great harm as well if you had not beaten him." He said gently.

"No." Gaara spoke up, shaking his head. "That's not the way of the Leaf. We do not…we do not do that….not…me." He tried to come up with some excuse but he couldn't.

Yashamaru looked at him softly, before he reached over and gently placed his hand onto Gaara's head, making him look at him. "Gaara, I understand what you're trying to say. You don't need to push yourself into saying it. I understand." He then bent down beside the boy, looking up at him. "The thing is, you are not a Leaf, Gaara. You are Sand. Leaves and Sand don't mingle too well together. Sand can choke the life out of Leaves without even meaning to. You don't seem to belong here very well."

Gaara looked away, his eyes full of more sadness and grief to even hear this man saying that. He knew that he didn't belong. Even in his childhood days he knew that. The other kids had always made him feel that. He even felt it now. "I….I shouldn't have hurt him though. Not like that. I'm…I'm too dangerous…." He was saying. He stopped when Yashamaru placed his hand onto his shoulder and made him look at him. "Gaara, you are very special. No one will understand that. You are special with or without the sand demon, Shukaku." He only nodded when Gaara looked at him with surprise. "Yes. I know about Shukaku. After all, you are my sister's youngest son." He told him smiling.

The young red haired Genin stepped back in surprise and alarm but then slowly relaxed. He should have known that Yashamaru might have wanted to talk about their relationship. He, himself, had questions that he wanted to ask him. "…..so….may I ask….." He tried to ask but couldn't.

Yashamaru just smiled before he nodded to him. "You must have so many questions about your parents and where you are originally from. Please. Feel free to ask about them. I will answer to the best I can." He told him softly.

So they started to talk about Gaara's parents. Gaara asked questions about who his parents were and what they had been like. And Yashamaru told him. He explained to the young Genin that his mother had been a very kind and loving person in the Hidden Sand Village. Everyone had adored her. He even gave Gaara a portrait of her, letting him see her for the first time in his life, or at least that he couldn't remember. Yashamaru also told his young nephew that he and his sister had been medics once. But one day, the young Kazekage had came into the hospital after being stung by a red scorpion. If not for Karura, he would have died. After that, they fell in love with one another and married. In the end, she bore three children. Temari, Kankuro, and then Gaara.

"Yashamaru…" Gaara asked quietly after the explanation.

The Sand Ninja looked down at his nephew, watching as the red head stared down at the picture in his hands. He saw a very painful look on Gaara's face, and that made him frown. "Hmm? What is it, Gaara?" He asked gently.

Gaara slowly shook his head as he looked at the picture of his mother, studying her beautiful face surrounded by blonde hair and into her green eyes that almost matched his. "Do…do you hate me, Yashamaru? Do you hate me for what happened to my mother? When she protected me from the Akatsuki?"

Yashamaru drew back a little in surprise. It was not the fact that Gaara asked him if he hated him that startled him. It was the fact that he knew the name of his parents' killers. Temari and Kankuro had not told him that they told their young brother about them. He was quiet for a moment before his eyes narrowed a little at the boy but then his face softened. "No, Gaara. I don't hate you. Not for what my sister, your mother, tried to do. It's only natural for a mother to protect her child from danger. She was protecting you because she loved you." He then reached over and patted the boy on the head. "Gaara, because you are my sister's youngest child, you are very special to me. If there is anything you need, I will help you with it." He told him.

Gaara just looked up with wonder and something else. For the first time in his life, he felt completely wanted. He finally knew who he was and where he was from. More than less, he still had family who might care for him. There was still one thing that bothered him. "Yashamaru…...?"

"Hmm? Yes, Gaara?" Yashamaru asked again.

The Genin was quiet for a long moment as he tried to think of how to ask this question. His mind was only on one thing. And it was something that he had done but wanted to fix. The saying, "If you broke something, fix it" was going through his mind and he was going to take it very serious. "Yashamaru," He began carefully. "How do you fix something that you've broken?"

Yashamaru looked at Gaara with surprise. He knew where Gaara was going with this. But he wasn't entirely sure if he could or should tell him about it. But after thinking about it for a long moment, he shrugged and began to teach Gaara about the human body. He began to tell him about the organs, the heart, and the mind and even about the thing that Gaara really wanted to know about. The human bones. And these lessons took only a few days until Gaara really started to understand them.

The Konoha Hospital had been very quiet as Gaara entered it. He hadn't said a thing to anyone as he walked down the halls, ignoring a few looks from them. He had paused when he saw a very sad looking Sakura walking by and that made him stay by the wall so that she wouldn't see him. He didn't think he was ready to face her or the others just yet. It was only a day before the final Chuunin Exams, before his battle with Sasuke. And it was this day that Gaara wanted to do what had been bothering him since his fight with Rock Lee, since he met Tenten in the forest.

The room was empty with exception of Lee sleeping on the bed. There was a fresh flower sitting on the bed stand near Lee's bed and Gaara knew that it had been Sakura who brought it for him. He could smell her scent in the room. His teal eyes were only on Lee though. The other boy didn't look too bad. He seemed to be healing nicely, other than have a broken arm and leg that he caused. Gaara watched Lee sleep for a moment as he slowly entered the room and went over to his bedside. He stared at the sleeping boy for a moment before he winced as Shukaku threw the memories forward. He grabbed his head and closed his eyes tightly as he remembered what he did, what Shukaku did to Lee. Then he remembered all of the frightened or hateful looks he had gotten from everyone. How angry Naruto and Sakura had been at him for what happened to this injured boy. He never wanted to make them that angry with him again.

'Don't be a fool! They hate you now, boy! Look at this kid! Look at what we did! We are a monster! Those weak humans will never understand!'

Gaara shook his head as opened his eyes and looked down at Lee. He didn't want to believe it at all. "But Naruto….he's like me….He's…." He was saying before shaking his head as he dropped one hand over Lee's face and started to call out his sand from the gourd. "…..you're right. I am a monster. I'm meant to only killing people. But…..not him. I will not…kill the one that….Naruto and Sakura cares about." And with that said, and ignoring the pain in his head that Shukaku caused. He just winced before he began to push sand grains into Lee's open mouth and nose, letting a very small trail of sand starting to swirl into him, but slowly so that it wouldn't hurt him.

But then, something weird happened. Gaara's body froze and he couldn't move. It was if he was paralyzed. The sand just fell onto Lee's blankets and some on his face. He could not move at all.

"ARGH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" came a very familiar voice before a fist connected with his head, throwing him side wards a little.

Gaara winced and grunted in pain before he looked up when he heard someone else yell out when Naruto punched the red head. He saw Shikamaru standing on the other side of the room, wincing as if he had punched too. "Naruto! While I'm using the Shadow Possession jutsu, I have him paralyzed! I move as he does!" He snapped with annoyance.

"Oh! Sorry, Shikamaru!" Naruto said before whirling around to look at Gaara but then his eyes widened when he saw that it was his friend. "Huh?! Oh! It's you, Gaara! Sorry! I didn't mean to hit you like that! I thought you were someone...else...?" He stopped when he glanced over at Lee, seeing the sand lying all over him. He looked as if someone close to him had played a horrible joke on him. "Gaara…"

"Naruto….what are you doing here?" Gaara asked, wanting to rub his head but couldn't because of Shikamaru's jutsu. But a second later, he found himself doing it anyway because the lazy genius was doing it. Naruto just stared at the sand covered Rock Lee before he frowned at Gaara, eyeing him with a little suspicion. "Gaara…..why are you here? What were you doing to bushy brows?" He asked, seriously. Gaara stared dryly at his best friend before he grew very stiff. He looked directly at Shikamaru. He had to figure out a way to get him to let him go.

'Try to bluff them. Distract them.' Shukaku offered. 'They think you're trying to kill the weakling. So make them think it.'

Gaara turned his eyes off to the side as if he was looking at Lee but it was actually Shukaku he was turning his attention to. 'Why? Why would I want to do that? Naruto hates me enough.'

'Exactly. So what difference is it going to make? Just do it! That way they will become so distracted that you can lash sand out at them and the lazy brat will let us go.'

Gaara frowned as he turned his eyes back onto Shikamaru, who narrowed his eyes at him. He figured maybe it was best to just break the ties. Especially if Naruto didn't like him anymore for what he did to Lee. So what difference would it make? "I was going to kill him, Naruto." He forced himself to say.

That in deed stunned Naruto and Shikamaru. Their eyes widened in shock as they stared at him. Naruto looked like someone had clubbed him over the head with a fish though, or maybe his best friend had stabbed him in the back. It was more than likely the second one. "Wh-what?! Wh-why, Gaara?!" He demanded, sounding too stunned to believe it.

"Because…I want to." Gaara made himself say.

Shikamaru gave him a very dark look. He didn't look happy to hear that at all. Not that the red head could blame him. "Why would you want to kill him, Gaara? You won that fight! Do you have a personal grudge against him or something?!" he demanded.

Gaara shook his head as he felt his sand now starting to slid towards Lee's face again. He felt the demon inside of him starting to tense up, already making Shikamaru's jutsu a little weaker. "I do not. I'm going to kill him because I want to kill him. I destroyed him already. Why not finish it?" The red head lied.

"Man….." Shikamaru said in a low, disgusted voice. "If you say it like that, you must have had a messed up childhood."

Naruto now looked at him with discontent. He couldn't believe his best friend was saying this. "Gaara! What are you talking about?! What happened to you?! You were never this cold before!" He yelled at him, pointing a finger at him.

"…..I killed Haku, Naruto. And I killed a lot of teams during the Chuunin exams." Gaara suddenly admitted.

That got Naruto's undivided attention. The blonde looked shocked at what he just revealed. Shikamaru just looked stunned and this gave Gaara what he needed. He lashed out at them with sand, just whipping it above their heads, making both of them flinch. Without meaning to, Shikamaru let go of his jutsu with his arms thrown up as if to protect him. When the sand didn't strike them, they looked at Gaara again, finding that his back was to them again and a trail of sand was sliding right into Lee's body.

"Gaara! Stop it! What are you doing?!" Naruto asked now rushing forward.

Before he got too close, a wall of sand shot up between them, separating them from each other. The blonde began pounding at the sandy wall, trying to get through but it wouldn't budge.

"I guess…..this means we are no longer best friends, Naruto." Gaara said in a very forlorn voice, catching the blonde by surprise. The pounding against the sand wall slowed down a little but he sensed Naruto still there, feeling very agitated. "I'm not hurting Lee. I lied about wanting to kill him." It stopped altogether. "I broke something and now I have to fix it." He said softly, watching as his sand slid right into Lee and he concentrated on having the tiny grains begin to push though Lee's body until they reached the bones.

There was a long pause between the three still conscious ninja before he felt Shikamaru move closer. "What are you doing to Lee, Gaara? What do you mean you have to fix what you broken?" The Nara prodigy asked.

Gaara didn't look away from Lee's sleeping form as he concentrated on his work with him. He felt the stunned feelings in the air coming from the two on the other side of his wall. "I'm mending the bones I shattered. Using my sand, I'm going to fill in the cracks and put the pieces back together." He told them, concentrating. "With my sand, the bones will mend faster and stronger."

"….Gaara, what happened to you? Did you seriously kill Haku? Why?" Naruto asked, sounding pained.

Gaara closed his eyes when he asked that question. It hurt to hear Naruto sound like that. To ask him a question like that. He wished this was all a bad dream that he could wake up from and everything would turn back the way it should have been.

"….." He was quiet for a very long time, listening to the breathing of his former friend and the lazy ninja. But after a while, he made his decision. It was time to tell Naruto the truth. It was time to tell him what he really was. "Naruto…..I know your secret, but you do not know mine. We are the same, you and I. You think you're a monster? Wait till you see what kind of monster I have inside of me." He turned slightly as he called his sand wall away, seeing the stunned look on Naruto's face. "You know that I grew up without parents, not knowing who I was, where I was from. Nothing about me. But only then I found out the truth about me. My mother was murdered by rogue ninja while trying to bring me here to Konoha Village. She died protecting me from them. They wanted me because of what I possess inside of me. I possess the One Tailed Beast, Shukaku. Shukaku is a bloodthirsty beast and it was he who demanded me to kill Haku. It is he because I can't sleep. And it was he who made me destroy Rock Lee's dreams. I came here to the Leaf Village as a monster. That's why no one likes me. Because I'm a threat to everyone here. There had been a few times where a few Leaf ninja had tried to kill me because of Shukaku. If it weren't for my mentor, Jiraiya, I would have become a worst monster. I would have killed them." He shook his head. "This is why…..Naruto, this is why we cannot be friends anymore. Because I'm a monster. A real monster." He told him before he turned his eyes back onto Lee, concentrating on pushing his sand onto the cracked bones and filling in the cracks. Once he finished, he turned back and gave Naruto a forlorn look. "And I plan on destroying those who destroyed my mother's life. If you get in my way, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from killing you. I will not be able to stop Shukaku from kill you." He said before he walked straight to the door, pausing when Gai suddenly appeared there, looking surprised to see them.

By the looks of it, he had heard the entire thing. There was a very sad look on the Jounin's face as he looked down at Gaara. "Gaara….." He muttered.

But Gaara shook his head as he walked right past him, pausing again to look at the wide-eyed look on Naruto's face. He was sure that was a look of stunned disgust there, when in fact, it was a look of understanding. But without a word, he turned and left the room.

The very next day was the final Chuunin Exams. A lot of people had turned up for the event. And a lot of them were foreigners. Some were even from the Sand Village. Gaara had gone to the Konoha Ninja Arena first thing in the morning. He had been there for several hours now, looking around at the arena below. He had seen plenty of people already starting to fill up the seats. But Gaara really didn't pay any attention to them. His mind was on the training he had done with Ibiki and Anko. He'd have to work very hard to get through this. He knew Shukaku might not make it easy on him while fighting Sasuke.

However, there was one other thing on his mind. Something that was going to be very hard to do. He knew it might be close to being impossible, and he knew that it would make Jiraiya very disappointed in him but he knew it was something he needed to do.

Gaara had decided that once the Chuunin Exams were over, he would be leaving Konoha Village with Yashamaru and his siblings. He would return to the Suna Village and help them get rid of the Akatsuki. He hadn't liked it when Yashamaru told him all about what was happening in the village. And his two siblings made it sound like everyone in the Sand Village were the Akatsuki's slaves. So he swore to himself that he would use the power of Shukaku to free the village from their clutches.

"Gaara."

The red head blinked out of his thoughts while sitting on one of the baloneys and looked over his shoulder to see Yashamaru walking towards him. His face softened a little before he turned and stood up, facing the Sand Ninja. "Yashamaru-san." He greeted him.

Yashamaru just smiled down at him as he approached the red head. He looked rather tired though, as if something was bothering him. He looked as if he had been up rather early. "Gaara, I wish you luck today. I hope to see your best skills." He told him softly before turning his head slightly off to the side when Temari and Kankuro started to approach, both immediately hesitating when they saw Gaara. "Today, I'm standing in for the Suna Village leader." The blonde ninja said before looking back down at Gaara, smiling.

Gaara just tilted his head to the side but then nodded. "Thank you, Yashamaru." He told him quietly before looking at his hesitant siblings. "Temari, Kankuro, we should probably get down in the arena. Everyone's arriving."

Temari and Kankuro blinked in surprise. They hadn't been expecting Gaara to even say a word to them. It had been so long since they even talked to him. They had thought he still held a grudge against them for telling him the truth. But by the looks of it, he was accepting it. Smiling, the two nodded before they turned and walked towards the stairs. Gaara, on the other hand, formed a hand sign, using his sand teleportation to get down in the arena.

As everyone began to arrive for the final exams, Gaara looked up into the stands, noting several people he knew. He saw the Hokage sitting with another person that took the appearance of a Kage but he wasn't entirely sure which one it was. Yashamaru was no where to be seen though. The young red head wondered where he was. He was also a little disappointed when he didn't see Jiraiya there either. This made him feel a little discouraged to not see him. He paused when he saw a flash of pink in the stands and he looked up to see a very troubled looking Sakura staring down at him. She also was looking around and it didn't take him more than a few moments to realize that she was looking for that she was more worried about Sasuke than him. That just made the red head scowl silently to himself. She wasn't the only one that caught his attention though. Several people were looking down at him with scowls. They were not fond of him, obviously. But he didn't care. This would be the day they would regret ever underestimating him.

Feeling more eyes on him, Gaara tilted his head to the side and he saw Naruto watching him with a frown. He was obviously still trying to think about what Gaara had revealed to him. The blonde looked rather troubled as if he was trying to sort out his thoughts. With a serious look on his face, Gaara looked forward again. He also noticed that the Sound ninja, Dosu wasn't there. That made the red head frown a little but didn't linger on that too long.

Finally, the exam was finally about to begin. More than hundreds of people were sitting down in the stands, including many wealthy looking fellows. There had been quite a few faces that Gaara also recognized. But his sea-foam colored eyes went directly up to the Hokage as he stood up.

"Thanks, everyone from coming…to the Hidden Leaf Chuunin Selection Exam! We will now start the main tournament matches!" The old man bellowed out. "Between the 8 participants who made it though the Preliminaries. Please stay and watch until the end!" And the crowd erupted into cheers and applause.

However, the before things really got started, the Leaf Ninja who was serving as the Proctor, whose name was revealed as Genma, held up a chart with everyone's names. "There's something I'd like to tell you before the matches. Look at this." On it showed the match ups. But there was no Dosu of the Sound on it. It surprised quite a few of the others though. Gaara didn't care either way. "There have been some minor changes to the tournament. Check once again to see who you're fighting." Genma added.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto said raising a hand to get Genma's attention. The Leaf Ninja proctor gave him a look of boredom but acknowledged him with a nod. Sasuke isn't here yet! What are you going to do?"

Genma just shrugged as he gave the blonde a smirk. "If he doesn't appear by the time of his match, he will receive a default loss." He told him simply. That just made Gaara frown as he clenched his fist. 'You better show up, Sasuke. I have to test my existence against you. I have to know if I'm strong enough to kill the one who murdered my mother.' He thought bitterly to himself.

"All right, guys. This is the final test." Genma said lifting his head and stuffing the chart into his Jounin vest. "The arena is different but the rules are the same as in the Prelims. There are none. You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat. But if I determine that the fight is over, I'll step in and stop it. You got that?" No one said anything but they nodded. So with a satisfied nod, Genma waved a hand at them. "Now, the first fight, Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga. Those two stay here while the rest of you go to the waiting room."

So slowly, one by one everyone headed straight for the doors and went up onto the waiting balcony where the contestants were going to be watching the fights. Gaara went off to a beam and leaned against it, though he paused to glance over when he saw Shikamaru watching him. He knew that the other Genin was uneasy of him ever since their encounter the day before. But the red head chose to ignore him.

Finally the match between Naruto and Neji began. Gaara watched as Naruto started things off by creating four Shadow Clones, each one with a kunai in their hands. They charged at Neji, who quickly dodged one of them. Without any problem at all, he beat the clones pretty quickly before the real fight began. It was a very long one but Naruto was doing really good for what he was normally up against. He even managed to bluff Neji out of thinking that one of his clones were the real one. This made many people jump to their feet with cheers as they watched him fight Neji.

At one point, though, Neji took the upper hand and things didn't look too good for Naruto. He began spinning around rapidly in circles, which made many people gasp when Naruto got thrown off of Neji without so much as a scratch on him. From what Gaara could see, it was Neji's absolute defense, something that was pretty close to being Gaara's sand defense. But before things looked like they were over for Naruto, the blonde kept getting up, making the crowd go wild. Gaara just narrowed his eyes as he watched how beat up Naruto was getting. He didn't like it at all. He wanted to help Naruto but this was not his fight.

However, before Neji could really beat Naruto, something began to happen. A familiar energy began to swirl all around the blonde, as he glared right at Neji, something that Gaara had felt once before.

'Kyuubi.' Shukaku growled as he watched through Gaara's eyes. 'The little kitsune brat is using the stupid fox's power.'

Gaara narrowed his eyes a little as he watched Naruto as he launched a full out attack on Neji. The red head felt his lips curve upward, knowing who was going to win this battle. So he was not worried at all. Neji might have had more experience than the blonde ninja but Naruto had more power than him. So he wasn't surprised when Naruto won the battle. Now it was time for Gaara's match with Sasuke.

Problem was, Sasuke was still not there.

There was several long moments as everyone waited for the calling of the next match. Gaara looked around, just waiting to be called into the arena. But it didn't come. Most of the audience were now getting impatient as they waited for the next battle to start. Some started calling down to Genma to call the next match but he didn't listen. He just stood there, watching the Kage box, waiting for the signal from the Hokage.

After a long moment, there was a puff of smoke and a Leaf Ninja suddenly appeared next to Genma. The brown haired ninja turned to him while chewing on a senbon and had a quiet word with the new arrival. A few mere words were passed between the two before the Proctor nodded. And just as swift as he came, the messenger was gone again, reappearing in the Kage box. Genma, just looked up at the audience, holding up his hands. "All right! Due to a request from the Sound Village Leader, the match between Gaara and Sasuke Uchiha has been postponed until later! We will be moving onto the third match ups! Will the next candidates please come forward! Kankuro vs Shino!" He called.

"I forfeit!" Kankuro sudden shouted down to Genma.

This only brought a sudden burst of surprise around the entire arena. Several people yelled their discontent while Gaara frowned and looked right at Kankuro standing a few paces away from him. He didn't understand why the Puppet master wanted to throw in the towel already. Was he joking? By the looks of it, he was being very serious. So he must have been a little intimidated by Shino Aburame then. In a way, Gaara didn't blame him too much. Shino was kind of creepy in a weird way. So the next match would have been between Temari and Shikamaru. The blonde Sand Ninja smirked to herself, obviously not going to throw in this match. She seemed very interested in beating up on the lazy ninja, who looked rather annoyed from where he was sitting next to Naruto.

"All right then. Temari vs. Shikamaru Nara! Come on down!" Genma called.

Temari jumped up onto the railing before opening up her fan and flew down on it. She landed on the ground, making several men just cheer or cat call her for her amazing entrance. She just ignored them as she picked up her fan and smirked right up at where Shikamaru was sitting. "Let's get this over with. Come and get me, tiger." She said grinning up at him.

However, Shikamaru made a face, looking as if he was going to forfeit too. He obviously didn't want to fight another girl. But Naruto had other plans though. He just grinned as he immediately shoved Shikamaru forward and tumbling over the railing. "Go get her, Shikamaru! Show her what you got!" The blonde cheered. Shikamaru landed in the arena with a grunt while many burst into laughter or cheered for the fight. Gaara felt himself smirk as he watched Shikamaru climb to his feet and send a glare up at Naruto who was bellowing with laughter. He was actually glad that his best friend…..former best friend made the lazy ninja enter the fight. After not watching the last match, the red head was interested in seeing Temari's moves. He wanted to see how good she was.

And truth be told, the match between Temari and Shikamaru was a very long one. It started off with Shikamaru trying to avoid getting hit by Temari's amazingly powerful gusts of wind from her fan. He did a lot of dodging and hiding behind a tree, which seemed to agitate her.

But after almost a half an hour of dodging, Shikamaru began to use strategy, and it stunned a lot of people.

For most of Gaara's life of knowing Shikamaru, he had always thought that the Nara brat was nothing but a lazy, good for nothing kid. He had never shown any motive of being a ninja at all. He always fell asleep in classes or laid out in fields watching clouds roll by, but he had never shown any promise in fighting. He had always acted like a lazy-ass idiot. That is, until now.

In this match against his oldest sibling, Gaara watched as Shikamaru began using a high level of intelligence while fighting Temari. He was using extremely incredible techniques in trying to outwit her and try to capture her with his Shadow Possession. It was now her trying to dodge his Jutsu. She kept leaping away before her shadow connected with his. But that seemed to be apart of Shikamaru's plan. For in the end, he captured her shadow, forcing her to do whatever he wanted her to do. The only thing he did though, was call in the towel, saying he was giving up when he could have made her knock herself out and win the match. The biggest outburst of shock came from Naruto, of course. He always over reacted, even if it was someone else who was giving up. When Genma announced a very stunned Temari as the winner, Naruto leapt down into the arena and began to lecture Shikamaru for his giving up. Of course, the procrastinated ninja ignored him. He just explained that he did it because it was stupid fighting girls.

Suddenly, while Naruto was still yelling at Shikamaru, there was a sudden explosion of smoke within the middle of the arena. Several people jumped to their feet with yells of shock as they watched as smoke and leaves began to blow away from the intruders. But Gaara was one of the few who smirked when he realized who it was. He lift his head and folded his arms tightly over his chest as he moved closer to the railing. "It's about time." He called down to the arena.

The smoke cleared, revealing Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake.

Sasuke smirked as he tilted his head upward, meeting Gaara's teal eyes with his dark ones. He did look a little different since they saw each other a month ago. His hair had grown a little longer and he now was wearing all black, instead of his blue shirt. There was definitely something a little stronger about him too. "Sorry about that, Gaara. I didn't mean to keep you waiting." He said, smirking at the red head. "Now get down here and let's fight."


	26. Chapter Twenty Six

Sasuke's sudden appearance had many cheering as they jumped to their feet and threw up fists with excitement. There was a lot of people who had been waiting for this match and now it was happening. Even Gaara felt a rise of excitement within him. He had been looking forward to testing out his skills against the 1# Rookie ninja of Konoha Village. So now it was time to see if he was strong enough. So Gaara stepped up onto the railing while calling out sand from his gourd before he began to walk down the long trail of sand like stairs. This just brought more cheers. It seemed that Gaara's entrance impressed the audience. And when he touched down on the ground right in front of Sasuke, the raven haired ninja just smirked at him before folding his arms. "Now look who the show is off." He remarked. Gaara just dipped his head, with an amused grin on his face.

"All right! Now it's time for the match you've all been waiting for!" Genma announced. "Gaara vs Sasuke Uchiha!" This brought loud cheers from the audience. Several people were on their feet, throwing their fists into the air.

Gaara and Sasuke both looked around at the audience all around them before looking at each other. "Let's make this real good." The raven haired ninja said and he got a nod from his teammate. Both paused though when Kakashi stood in between the two, looking at them fondly. "I wish you both luck. Try to have fun but don't try and kill each other, all right?" He asked before ruffling their messy hair, much to their protest. Either way, the two were both smirking as they jerked their heads away from their Instructor. Gaara, however, paused to glance over at Naruto, wondering if he would say anything to him before his match. But much to his discouragement, the blonde was walking away with Shikamaru, still berating him for giving up in his match. The red head's face grew a little more serious before he turned to head towards Genma. He saw Sasuke watching him, frowning when he saw that look but he didn't say anything to him.

However, up in the stands where Naruto and Shikamaru joined Sakura and Ino, Kakashi soon joined them in a puff of smoke. The three other members of Team 7 glanced at one another before looking down at their teammates in the arena. Kakashi was frowning though as if he was thinking. But after a moment, he tilted his head towards Naruto. "Naruto, I'm surprised at you." He stated, catching the blonde's attention. "You didn't even wish your best friend good luck."

Naruto looked rather surprised at him before his face fell a little and he looked down at Gaara with a forlorn look. He knew he probably should have said something to his friend but after finding out the truth about Gaara the day before, he was still rather confused about why he hadn't said a thing about his own inner demon.

"Naruto," Kakashi started again, catching the blonde's attention again. He knew very well what was wrong with Naruto. It had only taken him a few seconds of figuring that out by looking at Gaara as he watched Naruto leave with Shikamaru and then seeing the way the blonde was looking at Gaara right now. "There was a very good reason why Gaara didn't tell you about his secret." This caught everyone else's attention now. "He was afraid that you might react the way you're acting now. Yes, I know he killed Haku. I know what happened during the Chuunin exam. But I am not going to turn my back on him. Now are you?" He asked, glancing back at the blonde again. Naruto blinked in surprise before his eyes shot down into the arena as he watched as Gaara face off with Sasuke. He knew Kakashi had a point. He felt like kicking himself for not saying anything to Gaara. But as he tried to open his mouth to say something, the words caught in his throat. He couldn't say the words.

Below, in the arena, Gaara and Sasuke just smirked at one another as they faced each other. They were really looking forward to this. They had been wanting to have a head on fight for a good long time now. And it seemed that the audience were excited too because they were cheering for them. Most of them were yelling Sasuke's name but there were a fair few yelling out Gaara's name.

"Hey, Gaara." Sasuke called over to the red head, smirking. "Let's give them a real show."

Gaara smirked right back before he nodded as he nodded once. He would happily oblige. So with his head dipped down a little, before he folded his arms. "Very well, Sasuke. Come at me." He said in a low voice. Sasuke nodded before rushing forward with his fist cocked back. He began swinging at the red head, but as expected, the sand shot out of the gourd to protect him. "Heh! Always using the same tricks, aren't you, Gaara?" the raven haired ninja called through gritted teeth.

"Hmm." Gaara smirked to himself before he threw out his hands, pushing the sand away from him and Sasuke. The sand only swirled around them just as the red head quickly rose an arm and blocked the kick from Sasuke. Without the sand protecting him, it surprised Sasuke to say the least before he had quickly move back when Gaara swung a fist at him. He quickly did a few back flips away from the red head, landing a crouch and smirking. "I don't always need my sand to defend myself, Sasuke. I can defend myself just fine." Gaara said smirking at him. Sasuke just grinned at him before he charged. Immediately, they launched their selves into a dance of Taijutsu. They were practically showing off their Taijutsu skills, and it brought cheers from the crowds. Eventually, Gaara started using his sand again to block some of Sasuke's moves. It was only a matter of time that he would. He couldn't always hold it back. He created a sand clone to help block Sasuke's attacks, including when he threw his shuriken at him while Gaara stood back watching with a smirk on his face. It only surprised the red head when Sasuke began moving very quickly around him, swinging his fists. So it was clear that his teammate had picked up his speed during the month.

"So, you've gotten faster, hmm?" Gaara asked before throwing out his sand to hit Sasuke.

Sasuke just swirled right around behind him before throwing out a fist that could have matched Rock Lee's. His fist connected with the side of Gaara's head, throwing him a little ways from him. He watched as the red head crashed and rolled across the ground before he was quickly on his feet, wiping his chin where he had hit him. "Sorry, Gaara. But I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're my comrade." He said smirking.

Gaara smirked right back as he sat there crouching. "I didn't expect you to. Don't expect the same from me either." He said before he was launching himself forward as fast as he could with his sand swirling right behind him. He began throwing his hands out and the sand shot out towards Sasuke, now trying to hit him. Sasuke was quickly flipping every where to avoid being hit. Then he launched forward, moving as a blur towards his opponent. He ducked under a wave of sand before grabbing Gaara's shirt and throwing a hand forward, punching him across the face before having to leap out of the way as the sand came back to knock him away from it's master.

"Hey, Gaara! Want to see a new Jutsu I've learned?" Sasuke asked grinning as he crossed his arms in front of him.

The red head smirked right back at him as his sand rose higher right behind him, as if about to form a sand sphere right around. "Very well, but I'm not going to let you hit me with it." He warned him then had the sand sphere surround him in protection. Sasuke dipped his head lower. "All right. But trust me. This is going to hurt when it does." He warned him right back before he turned and ran as fast as he could right up the arena wall.

From within his sphere, Gaara watched Sasuke through a quickly made third eye hovering over the large sphere. He frowned as he watched Sasuke crouch against the wall before holding up a hand in front of him, just as there was a minor explosion within it, revealing a large ball full of electricity crackling in it. 'Hmm. That's a lot of Chakra he's putting in there. I better be careful.' He thought to himself with a firm frown on his face. Then with only a yell, "Chidori!" Sasuke began running down the wall, leaving a long trail behind him. He was running pretty fast towards Gaara, a grin on his face. He quickly approached the sphere and threw his fist right into it. There was an explosion of electricity just as part of the sand wall quickly opened up and Gaara was spat right out of it, wincing as he held his elbow. The "Chidori", as Sasuke had called it, had only clipped his arm, cutting into him a little and it had hurt a lot.

'Okay! Do NOT let him do that again!' Shukaku snarled at the boy within his head.

Gaara nodded once as he quickly landed several feet away from Sasuke, holding his arm. He felt a small trail of blood now running through his fingers from where the electrifying attack had clipped him. He glanced down at it quickly before calling his sand to wrap around it so that it would be soaked right up into it. For now the demon within his head was calling for blood after that attack. 'Shut up, Shukaku! I'll get him back for that but I'm not going to kill him!' He thought savagely to the demon before he quickly rose an arm to block off Sasuke's fist from hitting. "Nice attack, Sasuke! But that hurt!" He growled between his teeth.

"Heh! I told you that it would!" Sasuke chuckled before he lashed out foot to kick him from one side. He wasn't surprised when the sand quickly captured his foot and threw him away from the red head. He would have landed on his head if he didn't throw out his hands and catch himself. He quickly flipped over to his feet and landed in a crouch, looking over at Gaara, who was panting a little but there was a grin on his face. "Looks like you've gotten a little better too."

Gaara dipped his head down a little with a rather sadistic grin on his face before he threw out a hand for his sand to shoot towards his teammate and opponent. The sand immediately sped towards the raven haired ninja ready to strike him.

But suddenly pulled right back when it sensed danger.

Gaara's eyes widened when he felt the attack coming from behind him. The sand on his skin was tingling as if alerting him about the danger before it quickly blocked off the kunai that had been trying to hit him. The red head jerked around in time to see a scorching tag tied to the ring of the kunai before he was quickly moving as it exploded. He yelled out in surprise as he was thrown onto his back but quickly flipped over his head just as more kunai came flying at him.

And by the sounds of the audience, this was something that no one had been expecting. Several people in the audience were now on their feet looking down in the arena with shock, including several of the Shinobi.

Gaara quickly glanced over to the side to see a very stunned Sasuke, so it wasn't him who was attacking him. But before he could even start asking questions, a rain of kunai came flying at him. The red head began quickly dodging them and using his sand to block them from hitting him. He was only more stunned when he saw the kunai actually pick their selves up and were flying at him as if there were invisible enemies attacking him them.

"Gaara! Watch out behind you!" Sasuke yelled as he quickly stood up, ready to rush over to help him.

Gaara quickly jerked around before throwing himself out of the way as several giant shuriken came flying at him. He had to quickly move before getting several blades embedded into him.

'BEHIND!' Shukaku roared the warning.

The red head's eyes widened before he jerked around to see his attacker now. There was a ninja dressed in black rushing towards him with several kunai hovering all around him, as if he was controlling them. He was charging directly towards the red head with one kunai in his hand. He barely had time to call out his sand to protecting him from the attacker. The attacker thrust the kunai forward, only to have it blocked from his target before exploding into sand. Gaara's eyes widened in shock before realizing that it was a sand clone. Before he could snap back to reality, he felt a quick moving presence behind him, making his head jerk around just in time to see the real assassin lunging at him with a kunai. He heard several screams, followed by explosions but his only attention was on the man before him. He couldn't see past the black mask covering the man's face, nor what would give him a clue to who this man was. He couldn't tell if it was a Leaf ninja or someone else. But then again, he knew it must have been a Sand Ninja who was attacking him. They were the only ones in possession of a Sand Clone.

WHAM!

Before the assassin could strike Gaara with the kunai, Sasuke rammed into his side, knocking him away from the red head and throwing him away from them. The assassin went crashing along the dirt ground before he thrust out a palm and was quickly on his feet again. Sasuke and Gaara stood side by side, glaring at the attacker as he stood twenty feet away from them.

It was right at the second there were more explosions, making both of them quickly look around before noting that the village was now under attack. There were giant snakes rising up out of the ground and Ninja were now attacking the people in the stands. By the looks of it, it wasn't just Sound Ninja attacking but Sand. "What the?!" Sasuke exclaimed through gritted teeth. "What is going on here?!"

Gaara frowned when he saw the Sand ninja attacking his village, making his eyes grow wider when he realized what exactly was going on. He couldn't believe this. Sand Ninja were attacking the village! Did that mean…..?!

Suddenly there was movement behind him and Sasuke, making them both jerk around to see the assassin a mere few feet away from them again. This time, his hand was swinging at Sasuke, who didn't even have time to block it. The assassin's hand sliced right through the raven haired ninja's shoulder, making him scream out in pain before he was thrown off to the side. Blood coated the assassin's hand as it was yanked out of the boy's shoulder before lashing out and grabbing the red head by the throat, lifting him up.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." Gaara growled as he grabbed the assassin's wrist and gasping for air before he began calling towards his sand. But before the sand could come to his aid, the assassin thrust his kunai into the red haired boy's side, stabbing him deep. Gaara gasped in pain and threw his head back before he looked at the assassin again and smirked. "Wrong one." He remarked before he exploded into sand.

A Sand Clone!

The assassin's head jerked upward as he found himself grasping sand instead before he jerked around just as the real Gaara appeared right behind him. He was glaring fiercely at the assassin through very dark eyes as the sand swirled around him out of his gourd, which was now starting to break up as it turned into demonic like wings made out of sand. "I don't know who you are or why you're attacking me, but this will end right now!" The boy growled at him before he threw his hands towards the assassin.

The sand shot at the assassin like bullets before quickly wrapping around the ninja tightly, trying to bind him. The assassin just grunted as the sand continued to swirl around him, nearly covering him completely now. He was struggling but it wasn't going to be any use at all. He was captured.

"Sand Coffin!" Gaara growled between his teeth before raising his hand. The sand lift up the assassin a few feet into the air before the boy clenched his fist tightly shut. There was a loud crunch and blood splattered the ground all around him and stained the sand. It hadn't been too hard to kill him just yet. But it was hard enough to nearly render him motionless.

Gaara continued to glare at the assassin before he waved a hand, making the sand bring him closer. The sand did as it was ordered, bringing him nearly five feet away from its master. "Let's find out who has been trying to kill me." He growled savagely between his teeth before he reached up and grabbed the mask, yanking it off. And his entire body froze with alarm and shock.

"Go-Good job, Ga-Gaara…..y-you've become very strong." Yashamaru said weakly as he smiled down at him. There was blood running down his chin.

Gaara felt as if his entire body turned into ice as he looked up at his uncle with alarm. His heart nearly stopped as he stared wide eyed at Yashamaru, who suddenly fell to the ground when the sand let go of him. It had reacted to his feelings and had released him. "Ya-Yashamaru-san?!" The red head gasped, sounding pained. He stepped back a little, almost stumbling over his own feet. "Yash-Yashamaru, wh-why…why did you…..?" He tried to ask.

Suddenly there were two thumps, making Gaara jerk around only to see Temari and Kankuro now standing near by. They looked almost as stunned as Gaara did. So they hadn't known what their uncle had planned to do. Especially with the way they were looking at him. Utter most shock. Temari raced forward before throwing herself at Yashamaru's side. "Uncle Yashamaru!" She gasped with tears in her eyes. "What are you doing?! I thought we were going to abduct Gaara, not kill him!"

Gaara's eyes jerked towards her, wider than before. They had been planning to kidnap him?! Why?! He watched as Yashamaru coughed up blood before sighing and shaking his head. He looked very disappointed that this had happened. It wasn't suppose to be like this. His niece and nephew were not suppose to catch him like this. "Te-Temari…..Kan-Kankuro…..I had orders….." He gasped as he ended up coughing up more blood, his eyes closed painfully. After a moment as the wave of pain rolled away, he opened his eyes and looked weakly up at Gaara. "…..Gaa-Gaara, I had orders…to kill you….if I was ever t-to see you again." He said painfully. "To kill you….if you fell into enemy hands…."

"…..By whom?" Gaara asked painfully, his hand now clutching at his shirt tightly. He saw Sasuke moving over now, holding his shoulder where Yashamaru had cut him but glaring sternly down at the Sand ninja.

Yashamaru's breathing was getting heavier and sounding very wet but he shook his head as he looked right at his youngest nephew. "…B-by the Kazekage…you're father." He said, and that just made it hurt more for Gaara. Beside the deathly injured Sand Ninja, Temari gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. "…..H-he….ordered me….before he was ki-killed….he ordered me to kill the Shukaku demon carrier….s-so that the Ak-Akatsuki co-couldn't get a hold of it….." He shook his head as he looked painfully up at Gaara. "Gaara…..did you really think th-that….your father wanted you? You were nothing but a to-tool for the Sand Village. When you were born, with the One Tailed sealed…..up inside of you….your father was furious at first. He had not be-been happy that my sister was pregnant with you in the beginning…..but when the demon was sealed into you….he knew th-that you would make the perfect weapon to de-destroying the Akatsuki." He paused as he coughed up more blood. "Yo-you were only meant to de-destroy them…you were Su-Suna's secret weapon for con-control."

"N-no…..that can't be true!" Temari said, her voice quivering as she listened to her uncle say all of this.

Yashamaru gasped in pain as another wave of pain rolled over him but he looked up at her, shaking his head. "It's…..it's tr-true, Tem-Temari. Gaara was not meant….to be your bro-brother but a pawn to the Sand Village's expense. But then…then the Aka-Akatsuki attacked the village….trying to get a hold of the Shukaku…..your father pulled me….me to the side and told me that if he was ki-killed fighting them….I was to immediately surrender so that I….so that I would find Ga-Gaara….and….and kill him before the Akatsuki….co-could get him. Or any of the Hid-Hidden Villages for that matter. I was to des-destroy the Shukaku demon….."

Kankuro shook his head as his shoulders fell and he looked down at his uncle with anger and pain. "Un-uncle Yashamaru! You told Temari and me that we were going take Gaara and ask him to help us get rid of the Akatsuki. We were going to train him to fight them! So that we could free Suna! You said you wanted to find him!" He yelled at his dying uncle.

"…I di-did want to find him…" Yashamaru said weakly before looking up at the hurt look in Gaara's eyes. "….I wanted to find…..find him….and kill the monster who was responsible for my sis-sister's death."

Gaara stepped back again, his face twisted in pain and anguish. "But….but why? I thought…..I thought you cared about me. You said….you said that I was precious to you." He said quietly.

Yashamaru's eyes narrowed weakly but he shook his head. "I could never care about a monster like you, Gaara. My little sister….my sister was killed for protecting you. Do you think….do you think I could care about something like you?!" The dying ninja asked his voice a little hard. "And you do think that this village….the Leaf Village cares about you? You are a tool to them…..as you were a tool to Suna Village. You were born only…only to kill the Akatsuki." His eyes flickered up to a very quiet Sasuke, who stepped back once he looked at him. "Do you th-think….your friends could even understand you? You can never be….be loved, Gaara! They will never love you…..again….not after what happened to the Lee boy. They see you for what you are!" He said savagely.

Gaara felt so much pain now within his chest. He felt as if something was shattering inside of him. His heart was breaking just by the mere words of this man. The man who was suppose to be his uncle. He was one of his remaining family and he hated him. He felt his eyes starting to sting and felt the tears now spilling down cheeks. And to make matters worst, Shukaku was pressing for control.

'See?! What did I tell you?! You are a monster like me!' Shukaku laughed savagely in his head. 'No one can understand you. Not even that Kyuubi boy. Look at Sasuke! He doesn't even understand!'

Gaara tilted his head towards his raven haired teammate and saw that he was staring at him with narrowed and confused eyes. So it was true. He didn't understand. His head now stinging and his chest aching badly, Gaara reached up and grabbed his head, letting out an anguished cry.

"Gaara!" Temari gasped before getting to her feet and hurrying over to him.

Gaara jerked back away from her, glaring at her as he continued to clutch his head. "Stay away from me! Just stay back! What is wrong with you?! Can't you see that he's telling the truth?! I am a monster!" He yelled at her before bending over as Shukaku kept striking out at him.

'Let me out, weak human! Let me destroy this meat sack that tried to kill us! Then we'll go to the desert and kill the Akatsuki that killed your mother!'

Gaara started trembling before he felt as if everything froze all around him. He was clutching his head tighter as his eyes closed to squeeze out the tears. "I…..I….." He was saying.

'LET ME OUT!' roared the demon.

"Gaara! Pull yourself together!" Sasuke suddenly shouted.

Gaara's eyes snapped open before he stood up straight and glared right at his teammate. Only it wasn't exactly Gaara who was glaring. It wasn't just him. His eyes had grown so dark, almost black now. Sasuke stepped back as if he had been burned. Even Temari and Kankuro stepped back in shock. "Do not tell us what to do." The red head growled, his voice laced with Shukaku's. "You weakling of an Uchiha! Do you even realize that it was your brother, Itachi who killed my mother?!" he snarled.

Again Sasuke stepped back as if he had been burned. His dark eyes widened with shock. "What…..but that's impossible. Ho-how could he have….by the way you guys are making it sound….he was ten years old when your mother died, Gaara." He said frowning.

"It…..It doesn't mean he wasn't a killer…Uchiha." Yashamaru said weakly. All eyes turned downward to the fading quickly ninja. He was gasping in pain but looking very serious. "Itachi Uchiha….was training for the Akatsuki….he might….he might have been ten years old when….when my sister died…..but he was still dangerous. He...when Temari and Kan-Kankuro saw him...he was using Genjutsu...to hide his true young age...for his own...own safety."

At this time, Gaara was losing a battle of control. He was clutching his head tighter within his hands before his eyes narrowed dangerously at Yashamaru. He held up a hand, summoning the sand back around the Sand Ninja, who was smiling now. It was like this was what he wanted. "…..Kill me….Gaara." The Sand Ninja said weakly. "….And then…..go kill them."

Gaara happily obliged.

The sand swirled around Yashamaru, now pulling him into a crushing embrace, much to the sputtering protests of his older siblings. They started forward as if to stop him but more sand whipped out and slammed against them, sending Temari and Kankuro sprawling to the ground.

"Gaara!" Sasuke yelled now taking a step towards him, before he, too, was sent sprawling away from the red head. He gasped as he hit the ground hard, but was quickly on his feet again, looking over just as his red haired teammate began closing his fists.

The only sounds that Gaara heard was Shukaku's insane laughter within his head, now starting to drift out of his own mouth and the crunching of Yashamaru's bones as he continued to smile as the sand began crushing the rest of his life.

"GAARA! Stop it! Just stop it!"

That voice yanked Gaara out of his insane thoughts as his eyes jerked upward to were Sakura was looking wide eyed down at him with Naruto and Shikamaru just as stunned. Even Kakashi and Gai were looking down at the red haired boy with shock. But his teal eyes were only on Sakura and Naruto. With a growl within his chest, Gaara dipped his head downward. "You…..you will never understand." He muttered before he jerked around and called all of his sand back. With a golden-tan flash, Gaara was running as fast as he could away from the arena.

"Gaara! Wait!" Temari and Kankuro both yelled before they were quickly running after him.

There was a moment's pause before Kakashi jumped down beside Yashamaru, looking dangerously down at him. His eye was extremely dark as it glared at the dying Sand ninja. "Why? Why did you tell him all of that? Do you even realize what you've done?! He's too sensitive about stuff like that!" He said dangerously.

The weak Yashamaru just smiled weakly up at him as the life in his eyes was starting to fade away. "….I….I said it…because with that rage….he's strong enough…..to destroy the Akatsuki and free the Sand Village…..he is….he is Shukaku after all….." He said before choking on his own blood and his eyes closed.

"You are wrong." Kakashi said darkly as he glared at the now dead Sand ninja. "He is not Shukaku. He is Gaara." He then turned sharply and looked over at Sasuke, who was already gone, giving chase to Gaara. So instead, he looked up at Sakura, Naruto and Shikamaru. "You three! Here's an A class mission for you! Go after Sasuke and Gaara! Bring them back!" He called to them.

"But….." Naruto started saying.

Grab!

Kakashi was suddenly right next to the blonde, grabbing him by the front of his jacket. "Naruto!" He barked. "Gaara is your best friend and he needs your help! He's in a lot of pain and he believes that no one cares about him! Do you not care about what happens to Gaara?! He's always been there, watching your back! Now, you need to watch his! Are you going to let him suffer alone?" He asked, moodily.

Naruto stared up at Kakashi with wide eyes before they started to darken. He grabbed Kakashi's hand and pried it from his jacket. He knew that he had a point. His best friend needed his help right now. Demon possessed or not, they were exactly alike. Without even a word, Naruto was running off with Sakura and Shikamaru quickly following after. 'Hold on, Gaara! I'm coming!'


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

Gaara was picking up his pace as he ran through the trees. He just had to get away from there. He couldn't stand the pain and the rejection anymore. He was sick of being looked at and treated like a monster. He knew he was one but he still hated it. He needed to leave, what more could he say.

"Gaara! Wait!" He heard Temari behind him.

Gaara just growled to himself before he looked over his shoulder to see Temari and Kankuro still behind him. He just wished that they would stop. Did they not just see that he had just killed their uncle? He was too dangerous right now. Especially Shukaku only half way in control. The demon was almost pushing forward for complete control. He was almost there too. But the red haired ninja forced the demon back again. Without a word, he turned and kept running as fast as he could, getting farther and farther away from the village.

"Gaara! Stop right now!" Kankuro yelled at him.

Surprisingly to the two older Sand siblings, the red head did. He grabbed a hold of a tree trunk and pulled himself to a halt, standing on a branch a few feet away from Temari and Kankuro. Both of his siblings stood in a different tree, though. They knew it was probably smarter if they didn't get too close to him. "Gaa-Gaara! Wait!" Temari gasped, bending over a little. "Gaara! Please just listen….."

"Leave me alone." Gaara spoke in a very low and dangerous tone.

Kankuro shook his head as he gasped for air but then jumped over to the branch where Gaara was standing. He reached to grab Gaara by the shoulder to make him face him. "Gaara! Just listen! We didn't know that Uncle Yashamaru was going to try and kill you! We swear! The plan was only to….." He was saying.

WHAM!

A large patch sand lashed out and hit Kankuro hard, sending him flying through the air until he went crashing into a tree. The Puppeteer gasped in pain as splinters went flying all around him then fell against the branch beneath him. Temari screamed in alarm before turning sharply towards Gaara again, who slowly turned around with sand swirling around. "Gaara! Please you have to listen to us! We're sorry!"

"Shut up!" Gaara growled at her, his eyes narrowing dangerously at her. "Do you honestly think I wanted to leave the Leaf Village?! I didn't! And now I have to!" He suddenly cried out as he grabbed his head, which throbbed in pain.

"Gaara!" Temari cried out before she leapt over to the tree he was in. She looked at him with concern as she reached out and grabbed his shoulder. She felt him stiffen under her hand before she felt something hit her hard, sending her flying away from him, like Kankuro had. She too hit the tree hard and half expected more pain to come. But instead, Gaara was distracted by another sudden appearance. He turned sharply, still gripping his head to look at Sasuke as he stood on a branch. The raven-haired ninja was breathing hard from having to run so hard through the trees but he looked somewhat relieved that he finally caught up to Gaara and the Sand Siblings. Gaara, however, just growled at him. "Sasuke." He found himself hiss.

Sasuke's head dipped down a little as he looked at the red head before him before standing up straighter, still panting. "Gaara, what the hell is going on with you?! What happened back there with that Sand Ninja?!" he demanded. Gaara continued to glare at the raven-haired ninja standing opposite of him. He didn't want to explain himself to this particular person. Nor did he see that he had to. He just wanted to get away from before Shukaku broke out. "Sasuke, go away or I will kill you!" the red head snarled at him.

Sasuke stepped in surprise before his face darkened and he lowered eyes. He didn't want to do this but he knew he couldn't let Gaara go anywhere. So he didn't have a choice. "Gaara, I don't know what's happened to you but you are obviously in need of help." He opened his eyes again and frowned at his teammate. "I want to see your true face." He told him before snapping into a fighting stance.

Gaara just growled at him before a very evil smile curled onto his face. It wasn't him doing it either. "Very well. You wish to see the real me, you will only end up dead. This time, I'm not holding back!" He warned him. Then all he felt was pain as he felt Shukaku pushing forward. The pain was unbearable. Something he had never felt before. "AHHH!" He cried out in pain as he clutched his head. He felt the right sight of his body starting to shift and change, and when he looked over, he saw the sand from the gourd starting crawl over him, turning into a very large and grotesque arm. It looked very much like Shukaku's arm. As for his face, half of his face was now Shukaku's face. The sandy color of the demon's skin was slowly mingling with Gaara's usual pale face. He looked up towards Sasuke, only to see the horror on his former teammate's face. He knew that he was transforming into a hideous monster. He even glanced over to see the horrified looks on Temari and Kankuro's faces, seeing much fear in their eyes.

With an feral grin on his face, Gaara started to charge at Sasuke, who grew very tense. He swung his claws at him, who tried to dodge. But he hadn't moved completely in time. Gaara's demonic claws sliced right into Sasuke's shoulder, who vanished rather quickly. The red head looked around before growling. "Are you afraid of me, Sasuke?!" He growled when he couldn't see him at all. He could sense Sasuke still near by but he couldn't see him. "Come out, Sasuke! Whatever happened to wanting to becoming stronger and killing that certain someone?! Has your fear of me overtaken the killing urge?!" He figured taunting the other boy would make him come out. He knew Sasuke had too much pride to let him taunt him.

And it worked.

There was a loud crackling sound before Sasuke came running out from behind a tree with electricity in his hand. He was using the same Jutsu he had when fighting Gaara in the exams. With hatred and anger in his Sharingan eyes, Sasuke charged right at Gaara, as the red head charged right back. And both of them collided with one another's claws. But Sasuke's electrifying Jutsu sliced right into Gaara's sandy demonic arm, causing the red haired demon carrier a lot of him. He found himself cry out in pain before landing on the branch where Sasuke had been while his teammate landed on the other branch. But while growling in pain, Shukaku's insane laughter just broke out of Gaara making Sasuke spin around and look at him with alarm.

"Ha, ha. So that was what it was? You've actually caused me a lot of pain, Sasuke." Gaara turned around and grinned a feral grin. "It's going to be defeating you!" He said before more sand exploded from right behind him. Only this time, it was a large tail. He almost laughed when Sasuke looked highly alarmed by his sudden transformation. "HERE I COME!" He snarled before leaping towards his teammate with almost inhuman speed.

Sasuke tried to dodge him but he couldn't move in time. He cried out in pain when Gaara's demon claw sliced into his arm before he turned sharply around and came back. He whirled around to see his red haired demon coming charging at him. With quick thinking he formed a hand sign before raising his fingers to his mouth and blowing fire at Gaara. Gaara only snarled at him before going right through the flames and slicing at him. His demonic claws struck Sasuke making him cry out as he went flying into a tree with a thunderous crash. The impact pretty much created a crater in the tree trunk, making Sasuke fall forward, looking defeated.

"You are weak, Sasuke! You can't defeat me, a monster!" Gaara growled with annoyance at him. "You're too soft to actually defeat me! Let me make this clear! Just like what Kakashi said when we first fought with him! To defeat me, you have to come at me with the intention to kill! But you can't! Your hatred isn't strong enough to do it!"

"Shut up." Sasuke said as he glared at the branch under him.

Gaara shook his head as he dipped his head lower. "Do you understand what that means…? It means you're weaker than me! Go home, Sasuke! We're finished here." He said before turning away, and trying to fight Shukaku back. The demon was screaming at him to kill Sasuke. He wanted Sasuke's blood. But the boy didn't want to kill him. He had been his teammate and he couldn't kill his teammates.

"I SAID SHUT UP! WE'RE NOT FINISHED HERE, GAARA!" Sasuke yelled before charging with another Chidori crackling in his hand.

Gaara whirled around to see that Sasuke quickly approaching him with his Jutsu swinging towards him. He also saw the Chidori starting to flicker. He knew that it was too weak to do the same damage it had before. There was taking too much out of Sasuke. But before he could defend himself, Sasuke sliced right through his arm again, like last time. He winced in pain before looking down to see Shukaku's sand arm drop off of his own. Blood was running down his arm now and he felt so much pain. Turning slightly, Gaara panted heavily in pain before his eyes lit up in mild surprise. The black marks from before were back and swirling all around Sasuke's face and arm. Sasuke stood there for a moment before he fell onto the branch. He couldn't move anymore.

However, Shukaku had practically taken control now. The red head felt the demon growl before he was lunging towards Sasuke with his left arm now shifting into Shukaku's arm. He tried to pull back, to stop the demon from making the final blow to Sasuke. 'No! Shukaku! I don't want to kill him!' He yelled to the demon.

'Well I do! He's drawn blood! That's my blood! Mine! And he's taken some of it! Time to take his!' Shukaku snarled.

Gaara fought hard to pull back but he knew it was no use. There was no way he could stop the demon now. He was going to kill Sasuke. So with a sigh of defeat, he let the demon control his body to lunge at Sasuke to kill him.

WHAM!

A powerful kick to Gaara's head knocked him right off course, sending him flying nearly ten feet away from Sasuke and whoever kicked him. The red head growled as he quickly turned over and dug his demon claws into the tree trunk to stop him from falling out of the tree. He winced as he felt his head throbbing but ignored it. He looked up to see a panting Naruto now facing him. The blonde was glaring at him with no recognition in his eyes. He also saw Sakura land near Sasuke, looking at him with worry. There was also a pug nosed dog with them, looking the raven haired boy over with concern. "Naruto….." Gaara found himself murmur.

Naruto just glared at him for a moment before looking confused. He looked as if he didn't know Gaara at all. But it really couldn't be helped. He had never seen his best friend like this. Especially with his weird sandy demonic arm and tail waving around him. But with a frown, he jerked around and looked at Sakura, who was looking very worried about Sasuke. "Sakura!"

Sakura turned sharply and gave the blonde an annoyed look. "What is it?!" She demanded before freezing when she finally got a good look at Gaara. She seemed to recognize him a little and was startled by it.

"Who the hell is that?!" Naruto asked, pointing at the transforming Gaara.

The dog gave a heavy sniff before its head dipped down a little as he looked at the blood. "Although his figure has been transformed, he's the one named Gaara." He announced. "He's the one who just beat Sasuke."

Naruto's head whirled around again and he looked at Gaara with horror. He couldn't believe his eyes. Was that really Gaara? Was this….this creature really that red haired boy that he had known for so long? Inching forward a little, he tilted his head to the side. "Gaara?" He asked with unease.

Gaara growled at him before he turned his head away, almost glowering. He didn't want Naruto to see him like this, more than less Sakura. He looked as if he was about to leave now. "Naruto, Sakura," He growled at them, and surprising them. "Take Sasuke and go back to the Village. I'm finished here. I no longer belong here. From this moment on, we will never see each other again. Not if I can help it." He told them before he made to leave.

Sakura, however, stood up sharply and glared after him. "Gaara! Stop right now! Don't you dare walk away from us! Don't you even think about turning your back on us!" She yelled at him.

From Shukaku's irritation already pushing on Gaara, he felt the demon force his body to a halt before whirling around, throwing a claw towards her. He wanted to stop the demon but couldn't. He couldn't fight the demon back after that remark. He watched as the demonic arm lashed out at Sakura and slammed into her, sending her flying into a nearby tree. He was horrified by what the demon was doing to her but he couldn't pull it back. Keeping her pinned against the tree, the red head reached up and grabbed his head as he tried to fight against Shukaku. "Stop it! Don't hurt her! Not her!" He yelled at the demon, not caring if Naruto, Sasuke or his siblings heard his demand. He saw Naruto hurry forward and grab Sasuke before leaping back again.

"Gaara! Let Sakura go! You're hurting her!" Naruto yelled at him as he put Sasuke down again on another branch.

Gaara just bent his head down while clutching his head and wincing at the pain. He was trying to fight the demon back but Shukaku was putting up helluva fight. He glanced side wards at Sakura, seeing that she was now unconscious but in pain. "Sakura….." He growled before he looked down at the ground again.

'She won't choose you over Uchiha, you weakling! You're a monster! She likes that pretty boy, not us! Just kill her already!' Shukaku snarled at him.

Gaara continued to clutch his head before glancing up at her again, feeling as blood dripped onto his demonic claw. He almost felt his heart stop when he saw blood dripping from her mouth. He had caused her a lot of harm, from what he could see. He closed his eyes tightly and bent over a little. He had a sudden memory of when he first met Sakura again and a Shinobi had attacked him, trying to protect the boys that had tried to hurt her and him. A face flashed in his mind and he saw Yashamaru's smiling face at him. Another flash of a memory and Yashamaru tried to kill him.

'She will never like you! How could anyone…!'

"I know." Gaara found himself say out loud before he drew back his arm, though sand continued to hold Sakura up against the tree. He turned and looked at Naruto, who was staring at him with shock. He saw his friend trembling a little from fear of what he was doing. "Naruto…..what are they to you? Sakura and Sasuke?" He asked, surprising him. But then Naruto shoved a finger towards him. "They're my comrades, Gaara! My friends! And you're hurting them! So stop it!" He demanded.

Gaara just stared at him before turning slightly away. He knew that Naruto would have chosen them over him anytime. He had figured that was what would happen anyway. They might have both possessed a Tailed demon but he, Gaara, was a bigger monster than Naruto could ever be. "I see." He muttered before taking a step as if to leave. "Take them and go home, Naruto." And he started to leave.

"NO!" Naruto yelled before lunging towards Gaara.

The red head whirled around with surprise. But Shukaku caused his demonic arm to swing around and hit the blonde like a bat to a ball. He looked surprised at what he did but chose to over react. "Naruto! Just stay out of my way! I'm leaving! You can never understand why I am!" He growled.

Naruto winced as he forced himself to his feet. He glanced side wards at Sakura still hanging in the tree before looking over at Sasuke. He stared at him for a moment before looking back at Gaara as he dipped his head. "I'm not letting you go anywhere! You're right that I don't understand, Gaara! I don't understand why you're letting that thing inside you control you! But you're wrong! I do understand what you're going through! You're not alone at all! And if I have to kick your ass to make you see it, then so be it!" He yelled as he then slammed his hands together before slamming one down onto the branch.

There was a sudden explosion of smoke all around him before blowing away. Both Naruto and Gaara grew very still when they saw a small toad standing right before the blonde, looking up at him with annoyance. "What the?! It's only a kid! Gimme some snacks then I'll do your favor!" The toad said dryly.

Naruto growled before bending down in front of the toad. "What the hell! I hate you frogs altogether! Why can't the Boss Toad ever show up whenever I call for him!" He yelled.

Gaara growled before starting to turn away, only to freeze when he felt Shukaku now pushing himself forward for complete control. The demon was calling out for blood and he was wanting Naruto's. Sand began to shift all around Gaara before his entire upper half had transformed now. He did not look like himself anymore, other than his legs. 'Shukaku, we're leaving here. We're done. There's no need to kill them.' He thought bitterly to the demon.

'Shut up, brat! I want that blood! Just give in already!' The demon snarled at him before forcing the red head's body to turn around and look at a very angry blonde. "Nar-Naruto, just leave!" Gaara growled at him.

"NO! I'm not going anywhere and neither are you!" Naruto said defiantly.

Gaara sighed inwardly. There was no way he could stop the demon now. The demon was gaining more control over him and there was no way his blonde friend was going to run away. He never did. 'This is not going to end well.' He thought before he felt himself cross his arms before throwing them outward. Several sand shurikens shot out from his arms, speeding towards a startled Naruto, who quickly scooped up the toad and protected it from the shuriken. Gaara inwardly winced when he watched Naruto get hit several times and get thrown back into a tree. He wanted to stop hurting him but he couldn't. The demon wasn't letting him.

Naruto winced as he sat up and looked over at the almost completely transformed Gaara. He gritted his teeth as he looked directly into the sandy yellow and black eyes. He seemed to be remembering something. At first, he looked pained to see Gaara like this before his eyes narrowed before he stood up, looking determined.

"What's wrong?!" Shukaku called out from Gaara's body. "Are you afraid of me?! Fight for yourself or to fight for others! Just love yourself! Fight for only yourself! Those are what it takes to be stronger! We do! There's no way that you can beat us!"

Naruto just frowned with anger before gritting his teeth tighter. He was trying to choose his words carefully. He knew if he wasn't careful, the demon inside of Gaara would probably crush Sakura. He made a side glance towards her, just to see how she was doing. She was still unconscious but it looked like she was in a lot of pain. However a second later, her face twisted into pain and she cried out. That startled Naruto a little bit before he looked angrily at the demon before him.

"You keep delaying this fight, you weak brat, and I'll kill her!" Shukaku snarled then jerked his head to the side, as if he was sensing something.

"Knock it off! Stop hurting her!" Gaara's voice came out from the deformed body.

"Stop being so weak! She's nothing to us! Neither is that blonde brat! He doesn't care about you!"

Gaara lowered his head and looked away. He wasn't sure what to believe anymore. Sensing sudden movement, his head jerked upward and he saw Naruto charging at him with a hand sign formed in front of him. Several Naruto Clones appeared right before the transformed, now falling towards him. The demon snarled before sucking up as much as he could then blowing at Naruto, all of them. A powerful gust of wind blew at the blonde, sending him flying backwards with a loud crash. "Just give up already and run away! It's not like you'll get away! I'll kill you anyway! You're just a weak link for us!"

Naruto shook violently before forcing himself to his feet and bringing his head up to glare at the demon. This only urged the demon to causing him more pain. He swing his claws and struck the blonde, sending him crashing against the tree behind him. The blonde only grunted in pain, refusing to make any sign of submission or defeat. Instead he kept climbing to his feet and glared at the demon even more. This only agitated Shukaku. Gaara, on the other hand, was fighting for control again. He wanted this to stop. He didn't want to hurt Naruto anymore. 'Shukaku, stop it! He's done!' He demanded.

"No, he's not! Look at him! He's still got some fight in him!" Shukaku snarled with delight. He seemed to having fun pounding on the blonde human brat.

Gaara looked over through the yellow and black eyes and saw Naruto standing up again, panting and trembling. But he was digging into his pack for something. He saw a kunai starting to leave his friend's pack before the demon lashing out his tail. Naruto's head came up quickly before getting the tail slammed into him, sending him sailing backwards.

Before Naruto could crashing against a tree, Sasuke leapt into the way and softened his fall. Both of them grunted in pain before climbing to their knees and looking over at their former teammate. Shukaku was laughing and scowling at the same time. He seemed to be arguing with his host, which had him distracted long enough. "Hey….Naruto…." Sasuke panted as he glanced side wards at the blonde. "Sakura….you have to save her no matter what….I know you can save her….once you've gotten to her. Carry her and run….as far…and as fast as you can…..If it's just for a while, I'll be able to hold him in place…"

Naruto looked up at him as he tried to stand up before toppling over again. "Sasuke….." he murmured.

Sasuke grunted in pain but tried to stand up never the less, even if he was wobbling a little. "Never again. I already lost everything once before. I don't want to watch those dear to me die before my eyes again…..not to this monster." He said darkly.

Naruto frowned before looked over at Gaara, who was turning his demonic eyes over to them again. He seemed to be paying attention again. He could see the lonely, pained look in the yellow and black eyes. He knew that his red haired friend was in there somewhere. He knew that Gaara was fighting his demon to stop fighting him. Frowning, he forced himself to stand up. "Sasuke, you're like me. You lived feeling the same kind of loneliness and sadness as I did. But so did Gaara." He stated, making Sasuke look at him with surprise. "He lived in solitude just like us. I always thought he was fighting for himself. But I was wrong. His strength isn't real. Strength doesn't come from fighting all alone. He's been fighting for us all along. He's fighting himself from destroying us." He dipped his head lower before he swung his hands together and glaring at his best friend's demon. "When you have something that you want to protect, only then you can become truly strong!" A powerful breeze began to blow all around Naruto as he called up his Chakra, or what was left of it. "I WILL PROTECT THEM, NO MATTER WHAT!"

Suddenly there was an explosion all around them and the demonic figure. And all around them, there were nearly a hundred Naruto clones, surprising Sasuke, Shukaku and Gaara, and Temari and Kankuro, who were hiding behind a tree watching the entire time. They were looking on with horror and shock. All of the hundred Narutos just pointed at the transformed ninja.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Shukaku! But I am not going to let you kill my friends! And I am not going to let you turn Gaara into a monster! It's not just Sasuke and Sakura I'm fighting for! It's him! If I have to defeat you to get him back, then so be it!" The blonde jerked his head around and looked down at Sasuke. "Sasuke, you take it easy! Just leave the rest up to me!" He then threw a hand up into the air. "All right everyone! Let's go! Jump!" He yelled. All of the Narutos shouted a "Yessir!" before they were lunging at Shukaku and Gaara. They began taking out Shuriken and throwing thousands of them at him. The demon quickly rose a large arm to shield himself before he realized that had only been a distraction. His eyes widened when he felt several feet slamming into him, rising him into the air.

"NAR! U! TO!" All of them yelled with each hit. "U! ZU! MA! KI!"

Then all of them began pounding on him with a fist. Nearly hundreds of fists pounding against the demon, making him snarl before he went sailing right out of the tree. Gaara felt himself falling out of the tree, until he slammed into the ground. Wincing in pain, he looked up to see all of the Narutos leaping at him. That was when it started to get dark for him. He felt Shukaku now gaining complete control over him. 'No!' He thought before there was an explosion all around him. He heard all of the Narutos cry out before they vanished into puffs of smoke. Smoke and sand curled all around him before everything went dark. He felt himself changing completely now. The real Naruto was thrown into a tree but it didn't hurt him too bad. Instead, he looked up to see the true form of Shukaku. It looked like a giant Tanuki with deep black markings all over his body.

"NARUTO!" came Sasuke's yell.

Gaara, within Shukaku's body now, forced himself to look through the demon's eyes and saw sand now capturing his blonde friend into the Sand Prison Coffin. 'NO!' He shouted within the demon before he felt himself too captured. He was trying to fight against the demon but Shukaku won easily over him. The red haired Genin found that he could not move at all but drift into darkness. He was in that same dark desert that he and Ibiki had watched some of his memories, but this time, he was looking through a window. The window seemed to be Shukaku's eyes as he was attacking Naruto.

Shukaku just laughed as he began tightening the sand all around Naruto. He was going to crush this annoyance and destroy the entire Leaf Village. He had enough of the games he had been playing. "This is the end!"

Suddenly there was an explosion within the sand prison, making the demon freeze and look forward as a giant toad rose up from the trees. It was nearly as big as Shukaku was. The toad looked directly at Shukaku and frowned deeply. There was a look of recognition in its eyes. It seemed to know who he was. For a moment, the toad had an argument with Naruto and seemed to completely reject him when he called him out.

'Great.' Gaara thought as he watched before he tried to do some quick thinking. He had to stop Shukaku before he killed Naruto. He had to come up with some kind of way to force himself back into control. That's when he remembered Ibiki's words. 'Meditation.' He thought before he tried to calm himself down and meditate. He only hoped that it would work. Through his subconscious, he saw Shukaku now locking himself into a deadly battle with the toad while Naruto was clutching onto it. He also heard Naruto yelling to the toad to not seriously hurt Shukaku because of Gaara and to not go in a certain direction because Sakura was that way. The fight then went on, until he felt a breeze. The red head mildly opened his eyes, feeling extremely exhausted and found himself now on Shukaku's forehead. "Naruto…." He muttered before going back to meditating. He also felt himself fall completely asleep, letting Shukaku do whatever now.

That's when Shukaku really started to get wild.

Through the pits of darkness, Gaara could see images of Shukaku fighting with the giant toad. He was really trying to kill the toad and Naruto. But his main goal was on meditating to gain control over Shukaku. This fight had to stop before hundreds were killed. Before Naruto was killed.

Another image flashed before Gaara and he saw a bright-red, giant fox standing before him, lunging at him. It lashed out at Shukaku before grabbing a hold of him and biting into his chest. The demon roared with before trying to lash out at it. But Gaara didn't get to see if he hit the fox. The darkness was creeping up on him again.

'I almost got it. I can feel myself gaining control again.' Gaara thought as he tried his hardest to grab a hold of Shukaku's spirit. He felt the demon lash out at him but he didn't stop reaching.

WHAM!

A fist connected with Gaara's head, making it jerked to the side. He felt himself wake up really fast. His eyes snapping wide open, he looked to see Naruto standing right in front of him, glaring at him. Shukaku snarled with outrage before it roared as Gaara looked sharply over at the demon. "It's time to go back inside, Shukaku!" He yelled at the demon before grabbing the demon's spirit and forcing him back.

"YOU LITTLE PUNK!" Shukaku snarled before he exploded into a cloud of sand.

Gaara yelped as he felt himself fly backwards before landing in a tree. He landed on his back but was quickly sitting up to see the giant sword of the toad land right between him and Naruto, who also landed in a tree branch. They were looking at each other and panting from exhaustion. However, the sword was reflecting each half of them. It looked like each of them had a half of one another as they sat in the same crouch, panting at the same time. They heard another explosion of smoke but didn't look away from one another but just glared at each other. It was only the toad leaving them now. Everything was silent now. The only sound that Gaara could hear was his breathing and Naruto's.

"Nar….Naruto…..why…." Gaara huffed angrily as he glared at him. "Why can't….you just….leave….me alone? We're…not friends…..anymore…" He shook his head. "I'm…..I'm a monster…..I hurt….Sak-Sakura and…Sasuke…..why won't you just….let me…..go….."

Naruto panted as he stared at him with a fierce look before he took a deep breath as if trying to stop himself from breathing so hard. He was refusing to accept Gaara's words. "You…..you're wrong…..Ga-Gaara! It wasn't….you who was hurting them…..it was Shuk-Shukaku!" He yelled.

Gaara just growled before he leapt to his feet and jumped towards Naruto. He was going to knock the blonde out if he had to. He wanted this to end. With his fist thrown back, he watched as Naruto was doing the same while calling up his chakra. A strong breeze had ripped his forehead protect, making it fall to the ground but Naruto didn't seem to care at all. His fist was also thrown back. But as they started to swing at one another, Gaara's sand quickly came to the red head's defense and wrapped around Naruto's wrist, trying to stop him from hitting its master.

That did not stop Naruto at all.

Instead, the blonde let out a frustrated yell before he threw his head forward and slammed it against Gaara's own forehead. It did more than surprised the red head though. It stunned him. He felt blood now running down between his forehead and Naruto's as they looked at each other in the eyes. Then they plummeted to the ground.

Gaara gasped in pain as he hit several branches on the way down, and even heard Naruto yelp but it came to a sudden stop as they hit the grassy clearing, landing near each other and getting their air knocked out of their lungs. Both of them gasped for air before weakly looking over at each other. They laid there for a long time before the blonde began crawling towards his friend. "Nar-Naruto…..just stay away!" Gaara yelled, almost pleading.

But Naruto completely ignored him as he crawled on his belly over to him and then reached out, grabbing Gaara's wrist. He looked right into his teal eyes and shook his head. "Gaa-Gaara…You're my friend….." Naruto gasped as he laid next to him. "…..That will never….never change. I don't care if…..if you have Shukaku….I have Kyuubi. We….we can be monsters together…as friends. As…..as best friends….I will not…..let my best…. Friend suffer alone….We've come too far as friends…..to let our friendship die now…"

Gaara stared at him in weary shock before his eyes started to droop. He felt so tired. He was literately beaten to weariness. His body was extremely strained and he could feel himself falling into darkness. "Naruto….I'm so sorry….." He then looked up when he heard to thumps and he saw his siblings quickly hurrying over to them, looking very worried. There was another thump and Sasuke joined them, looking ready to fight them. Sakura was cradled in his arms, still out cold. "No…don't fight…." He found himself sigh. All eyes turned to him. "I've had…..I've had enough….I'm sorry, Sasuke. I'm…..sorry, Sakura. I didn't….I didn't want to hurt you guys….that's why I tried to leave…" He murmured before he was out. Temari and Kankuro tensed but then relaxed after a long moment when Shukaku did come out again. Instead, they looked over at Sasuke, who gently placed Sakura down next to Naruto, who also was out cold. All of them looked at one another.

"Please." Temari said as she bent down beside Gaara, and gently lift him up into her arms. "Let us go. We'll take Gaara and leave the….."

Sasuke frowned at her and shook his head. He wasn't going to let them go, not with Gaara. He knew that once Gaara woke up, he might be angry with them for taking them away. Besides, it looked like he needed immediate medical attention.

"You won't be leaving any time soon." Came a low rumbling voice, making all of them turn around sharply only to see a white haired man, Jiraiya coming out from the trees. He looked very serious, yet concerned for all of them.

The Sand Siblings tensed as he walked up to them but Sasuke just frowned. He didn't know who this guy was but there was a sense of peace coming off of him. Especially with how he was looking down at Gaara as he moved over to the red head and bent down beside him. "Who are you?" He asked, frowning.

Jiraiya looked up at him, frowning before looking back at Gaara and then to Naruto. His eyes softened as he reached down and brushed of their bangs out of their eyes. "I'm just a friend of Gaara's and Naruto. You don't have to be so tense around me, Young Uchiha." He told them before lifting Gaara up into one arm and the picked Naruto up with the other. He turned his dark eyes onto Temari and Kankuro. "Your uncle is dead. And your Sand Ninja have ran off. The battle is over. You can follow after them or you can stay with us, to keep an eye on Gaara. But I will not let you take him away from this village unwillingly. And don't even think about trying to fight me for him. You will sorely lose. Come with us back to the village. We'll take care of you. And not in a bad way. I'll make sure no one hurts you two."

"Why would you do this? We helped attack your village?" Kankuro asked with a little worry.

Jiraiya's face softened before he looked at Sasuke as he picked Sakura up to carry her back. He turned his eyes back onto Temari and Kankuro, who stepped back a little. "You're Gaara's brother and sister. You're now all alone and if you go back to the Sand Village now, they will kill you. Especially when they know Gaara's alive now. They will know that you lied to them and they will punish you. You'll be safer in the Leaf Village then going back to your own. Come on." He told them before he started leading the way back to the village. Hesitating, Temari and Kankuro followed after them.

However, before the day was completely over, the Leaf Village was completely unaware that they had some visitors. Far across the valley, standing on the far side mountains, four figures dressed in black with red clouds on their robes had watched the entire battle between Shukaku and the giant toad known as Gamabunta. Three of them were Akatsuki members while one was just a young Sand Ninja with a mask over his face.

"See, see. I told you that he was going to be here. Sasori-danna also knew it." Came the amused voice of the clay bomber, Deidara.

The Akatsuki member standing beside him just shook his rice hat covered head as he stood in silence for a long moment. He just stood there before tilting his head towards the blonde wacko. "What Orochimaru does now is his business. He's no longer one of the Akatsuki." He spoke in a low and stoic tone before lifting his head a little. Underneath the hat, a pair of fiery red Sharingan eyes peered at the blonde Akatsuki member, who drew back a little. "Our priority in Konoha is the boy."

The tallest and bulkiest of the four turned his head and looked down at the possessor of the Sharingan eyes. "Yes. About the boy. But what about the other one? That little bitch, Temari lied to us all this time. She made the Akatsuki look like fools." He growled savagely. "Itachi, are we going to nab the One tail too? I know our priority is the Nine tail but wouldn't it be better….."

Itachi turned his head his partner before looking back towards the village. "Don't worry about the One tail, Kisame. Our mission is the nine tailed fox boy." He turned his Sharingan infused eyes back to Deidara and Tobi. "You two…..you will need to report to the Leader. I'm sure he's going to be wanting to find out that the One Tailed Beast, Shukaku is not lost after all." He paused to look at the masked ninja next to him. "And take the idiot with you. He'll only get in our way." He said dryly. Deidara groaned and Tobi pouted at the insult. But without a word, they took off either way.


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

The day was full of sadness and despair during the aftermath of the battles with Sound and Sand. A lot of people had died during the fight. Many ninja had died protecting the village. And that included the Third Hokage. He had been killed, or more than less, he sacrificed himself to cause a lot of harm to Orochimaru. It was only the day after the horrible battle when everyone attended the Funeral of the Hokage. Minus Gaara and his siblings, that is. The three of them were in the hospital, being guarded by an ANBU. Not a lot of people were happy that the two Sand Ninja were staying in the village after what they had done.

A few wanted to have them killed immediately but Jiraiya immediately intervened and warned everyone that he would not allow them to touch the siblings. Not everyone believed him and figured that they could take him if they gained up on him in large numbers. That is until Kakashi, Gai and even, shockingly, Ibiki and Anko stood in their way, glaring at those who meant Gaara, Temari and Kankuro harm.

"Go near the sand kids and I will remind you why I'm in charge of the ANBU Interrogation and Torture Squad." Ibiki growled at any ninja who dared to defy Jiraiya. No one dared after that.

Things were not going very well for Gaara though. It had been nearly a week now since he fought Naruto and he still had not woken up from his sleep. He had had many visitors of course. Naruto definitely being one of the first. When he found out that Gaara was still in the hospital, he immediately went to see him, only to discover that Gaara was now in a coma. The nurses had tried everything to wake him up but it wasn't working at all. Eventually, Ibiki had a go at him, trying to get inside his head. The only results that came out of it were him hitting a powerful barrier around Gaara's mind. It was then concluded as Shukaku being the one responsible for the coma.

"That damn demon is keeping him asleep." Ibiki growled as he informed Jiraiya, Kakashi and the nurses. "It seems to me he's not happy with the outcome of the fight with the Uzumaki boy and he's taking his rage out on his host."

Jiraiya was a little worried about that but he knew that whatever was said wouldn't be any help. There was only one person he could think of that might be able to help him though. And after having a talk with some of the elders about him becoming the new Hokage and him refusing, he knew that there was only one person who could be a help. "Looks like I don't really have a choice." He stated, catching everyone's attention. "I've got to go out and find Tsunade. She's the only one who might know how to help Gaara come out of his coma. Plus she can take care of anyone else who's hurt. She's the only chance he has to coming out of it."

Kakashi glanced down at the sleeping red head before he nodded. "Then we have to find her." He looked at Jiraiya. "You're taking Naruto with you, aren't you?" He asked. Jiraiya looked back at him before nodding. He figured it was better if he did take the blonde brat. He needed more training and it was more than likely that the Akatsuki were going to come here looking for him. "Yeah. Might as well. If the Akatsuki get a hold of him, he's a lot of trouble." He then looked at Gaara with concern. "But….it kills me to have to leave Gaara here. The Akatsuki knows he's here now because of that little rat, Tobi. Temari and Kankuro's teammate. There's no doubt that they're coming for him. I wish I could just take him with me but it's too risky." He stated.

Gai clapped him on the shoulder as he glanced down at the red head. "He'll be fine here, Master Jiraiya. We'll all watch over him. Besides, those two Sand Ninja refuse to leave his side. We only had to shove them out the door to see Gaara." He said glancing over the door, fully aware that the two siblings were pacing back and forth outside it.

Jiraiya just smiled faintly as he glanced over and saw the silhouettes of the two. He was just happy that Gaara's remaining family were very concerned about him. "They'll be all right with him. Just watch out for them too. I'm a little worried about those two. I know for a fact that they just want to take Gaara and run. They want to run and hide from the Akatsuki. They are scared to death for him." He looked at Kakashi. "You might have to keep an eye on them. They might do it too." He told him. Kakashi shook his head as he glanced side wards at the door, seeing that the siblings have stopped pacing. It was more than likely they could hear them talking to each other. "They have nothing to worry about. With their help, we can keep Gaara safe. Just find Tsunade and bring her back for everyone's sakes." He said to the white haired Sanin.

Jiraiya only nodded as he went over to Gaara's bed side and looked down at him with concern. He reached down and ran his fingers through the Genin's red hair. "Don't worry, Gaara. I'll be back as soon as possible. Before those Akatsuki fools can even get here."

Gaara was very confused of his surroundings. He had woken up in the dark desert again and all alone. There was just dark sand all around him and nothing else. He knew he must have been in his subconscious again. But it didn't seem like Shukaku had gain control over him. In fact, he could sense the demon somewhere close by. So with a frown, he wandered the dark desert, trying to find a loop hole in his subconscious. He needed to wake up. It seemed like he had been wandering for days on end while trying to find a way out of his own mind. It was only when he decided to sit down and meditate on his thoughts when he felt Shukaku's presence appear near him. He opened his eyes and looked up to see the demon hovering over him with a grin. It was a rather sadistic grin, something that made Gaara feel uneasy. He knew when the demon grinned liked that, it wasn't a good thing.

"What are you so happy about?" The red head asked dryly.

Shukaku just grinned at him as he curled his large tail around his large feet and dipped his head down lower. 'Oh nothing, really. Just that I've got you stuck in your own head and you won't ever wake up unless I let you.' He chuckled savagely.

Gaara gave the demon a very nasty look before he stood up and folded his arms over his chest. He was sick and tired of playing these stupid games with the demon. He shouldn't even have to. This was his body and he should be in charge of his own life. Naruto had had a point when they had fought each other. He was letting the demon rule his life and he was getting kicked around. "You will let me wake up them. Because this is my body and I will not let you rule it anymore."

'I'll let you wake up when I'm good and ready!' Shukaku growled at him, his eyes starting to glow savagely. 'And I won't be letting you wake up until we come to an agreement.'

Gaara frowned at him with annoyance but he was curious about what the demon was talking about. So instead of arguing, he just tilted his head to the side. "Agreement? What sort of agreement?" He asked suspiciously.

The demon only grinned at him in a savage way before he dipped his head lower so that he was looking Gaara right in the eye. 'An agreement about who gets to be in control of this body from now on.' He said dryly.

The young red head started to glare at him. He couldn't believe this demon. Shukaku was playing the same game. Even after he had won the battle between them. It was time to put his foot down. He was done playing this game with him. With his arms folded over his chest, he lift his head and gave his answer.

"What?!" Naruto gasped as soon as the words were out of Sakura's mouth. It had only been a few hours since he returned with Jiraiya from bringing the new Fifth Hokage, Tsunade back and had gone to see Sasuke to see how he was doing, only to hear something that he didn't want to from his pink haired crush. It had been nearly a month since he had left with Jiraiya on the mission to find Tsunade, whom was the world's best Medic and one of the Three Legendary Ninja. They had had a run in with the Akatsuki for the first time. It had been Itachi Uchiha and a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist Village, Kisame Hoshigaki. They had been after Naruto but due to the fact that he was with Jiraiya, it was hard to kidnap him. Even Sasuke had run off to save Naruto, only to get into a nasty fight with Itachi and end up losing badly to him. Sasuke had gotten more than a bent out of shape ego but some serious injuries.

After that fight, Jiraiya had sent Sasuke back to the Leaf Village so he could be healed. Then he and Naruto went on their way to find Tsunade.

Oh, they had found her all right but she wasn't exactly the nicest person at first. She had refused to return to the Hidden Leaf Village. She hadn't wanted anything to do with it after an old lover had been killed a long time ago. But somehow, Naruto had gotten through to her. Of course, Tsunade hadn't made up her mind until after a serious fight with Orochimaru, who had been looking for her to make a bargain. The bargain had been for her to heal his arms so that he could use Jutsu again, which was the outcome of his fight with the former Hokage, Saturobi and he would bring her lost lover back to life.

But in the end, Tsunade tried to kill Orochimaru herself and ended up getting hurt pretty bad after protecting Naruto from getting seriously hurt. Everyone came out all right with only bumps and bruises. And now they had returned to the Hidden Leaf Village with Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage.

However, Naruto and Jiraiya had both been expecting to come home to find Gaara up and moving around, not mention Kakashi not being seriously hurt after fighting with Itachi Uchiha. They had found out that Itachi and Kisame had tried to have a go to get at Gaara, but Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Kurenai had stopped them in their own way.

So, obviously, the Akatsuki knew that Gaara was alive and who he was. From what Itachi and Kisame revealed to Kakashi and the other Jounin, they were very angry at the deception from Temari. They had even tried to get at her and Kankuro if not for the Leaf Ninja. Temari and Kankuro had panicked at some extent after the run in with the Akatsuki. They remembered what happened that day.

Minor Flashback

Temari and Kankuro had been kicked out of the Hospital after being there for nearly a week without leaving Gaara's side. The nurses had become rather worried about the two Sand Ninja because they hardly left the hospital room. They hardly ever ate or slept, always worried that the Akatsuki would appear at any minute for their little brother. The medical staff members had finally gotten used to them being in the building all of the time. And after getting to know them, they didn't mind them.

In fact all of the villagers in the Konoha Village had finally gotten used to the two Sand Siblings. At first they hadn't liked them being there. But after watching the two interact with the some of the Leaf ninja, and getting along with them just fine, they started to trust the two. If the Heirs of some of the Clans and the young Geniuses could trust Temari and Kankuro, everyone figured that they could. Now, the brother and sister were well known throughout the entire village and of what their village was going through.

The Konoha Villagers didn't know all about the entire situation, seeing that it was only necessary for the Shinobi to know about Suna Village, but they did know that the Desert Village was suffering pretty badly.

Now, Konoha and Suna hadn't had great relationships in the past with one another. They had actually hated one another pretty bad. But that was in the past. Yes, there were some grudges against one another but to hear that the new "Kazekage" was making the people suffer, Konoha didn't like it.

"No right Kage would ever make his people suffer!" One man said savagely as soon as he heard the news.

Many agreed with him and some even started requesting that Konoha went to Suna's aid. Problem was, they couldn't. Not without the orders of the Hokage. And it was actually against the rules to interfere with how another village was being run. Even if the Kage in charge wasn't really the Kage. Not without the blessing of the Village Elders, who were the ones to name the new Kage. Temari and Kankuro had informed their new Leaf Ninja friends that the Suna Elders did not give the "Kazekage" their blessing, no matter how much he threatened the people of the village. So even though he was ruling the village under fear and suffering, he wasn't technically the Kazekage.

Anyway, back to the situation at hand, Temari and Kankuro had been cooped up in the hospital for a week, receiving a few visits from their friends. It was only a matter of time before the nurses kicked them out of the building, demanding that they got some fresh air.

So the siblings went on a walk together, talking silently about what they were going to do after Gaara did wake up.

"I don't know if we should talk him into leave Konoha and go back to Suna, or we could stay here." The blonde Sand Ninja said in a quiet voice. She was worried about what they should do. She knew that they were welcomed to stay in the Village because they were Gaara's siblings. She remembered very well how the people of Konoha reacted when they found out that two Sand Ninja were staying in the village. She remembered when a few had tried to attack her and Kankuro. But if not for the lazy genius, Shikamaru, and the rest of the Leaf Genin, they probably would have made things worst. Shikamaru, unlike many, refused to let anyone hurt her and her brother. It wasn't expected but it did make them feel some relief to know that the Genin didn't hold a grudge against them for what they had done.

Actually, they seemed rather forgiving. It was something that the Sand Ninja would never do but these people were not Sand Ninja.

Kankuro just pulled his pointed ear hood down and ran a hand through his shaggy reddish brown hair. He was still very uneasy about wandering the Leaf Village without a Leaf Ninja around but he was starting to get used to it. "I know, Tem. But let's face it. We can't stay cooped up here forever. Baki needs us. Everyone at home needs us." He sighed as he dropped his hands at his sides. "Maybe once Gaara wakes up from his coma, we can talk to him about the problem. We'll let him decide then."

Temari slowly nodded in agreement. That sounded like a better plan than the one she and Kankuro had come up with. They had planned of just taking Gaara from the hospital and running for it. She knew that the Konoha Ninja might up a fight but it was better facing them than facing the Akatsuki.

Speaking of which….

Both Temari and Kankuro became very aware that someone was standing in their path. So they looked up to see who it was. They had expected to see Shikamaru or Shino. Or even Sakura, seeing that the pink haired girl was getting along with Temari very well. But it was none of them. In fact, it wasn't even anyone friendly.

It was the Akatsuki members; Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki.

The Sand Ninja froze in their tracks like deer being caught by in a light. Their eyes widened with shock and fear, not to mention disbelief. They were trying to decide if what they were seeing was real or not.

"Hello, Temari, Kankuro." Came Itachi's very cool and calm voice.

Temari and Kankuro's bodies nearly turned into ice when they realized that this wasn't just some illusion that they were seeing. It was real. They were actually here. "N-no…" The blonde murmured with terror. "Yo-you're here…"

The giant blue skinned ninja beside the former Leaf Ninja grinned a very sharp toothed grin at them as he dipped his head lower. "That's right, you little punk. And guess what? We're a little pissed at you." He said, his voice rather deep and harsh.

"B-but…..we didn't…..we didn't d-do anything….." Kankuro said, his voice cracking.

Itachi narrowed his dark eyes from under his large rice hat. It was a look that scared the pair of Sand Ninja badly. They had seen it before. It had been when a civilian of Suna had insulted him and he ended up killing them. "We're aware of the Shukaku container's existence, Temari." He said in a low voice, which sent a shiver down the blonde's back. "And we're not exactly happy to learn about it still being alive when we were under the belief that he was dead. You lied to us."

Temari's body began to tremble as she took a step back with Kankuro. Her face was very pale and she had sweat starting to roll down her forehead. She was terrified completely out of her wits. And so was her younger brother. She knew that they were in some serious trouble. They could have fought with these two, but they were fully aware that they would lose the fight if they did. These two were too powerful for them. They were still Genin for a reason, after all. "P-please….we're sor-sorry. But…..can you blame me for wanting to protect our brother?! He's our brother!" She said shakily looking into Itachi's dark eyes with fear.

Itachi didn't say anything for a long moment as he just looked coldly right into her eyes. It was hard to read his expressions. She couldn't tell if he was angry, annoyed or if he even agreed with her. He was like a rock.

Kisame, on the other hand, just reached up and gripped the handle of his large sword he had clipped onto his back. He was grinning savagely at them, which only grew wider when the two Sand Ninja grew paler and backed away in fear. "Sorry, kiddies. We've been ordered to put you two out of your misery if we ever saw you. You're to be severely punished for lying to us." He said before taking a threatening step towards the two. Temari and Kankuro quickly took a step back, looking ready to bolt at any second. The blonde squeaked fearfully, almost ready to start screaming the very minute that Kisame attacked her and Kankuro.

"You two aren't exactly familiar around these parts, aren't you?" came the warm but serious voice of Asuma Saturobi from behind the two Akatsuki members.

Temari and Kankuro both blinked in surprise when they saw the pair of Jounin standing behind the two outlaws. They hadn't even seen them arrive, nor even felt them. Neither did Kisame. He spun around sharply with surprise to look at Asuma and Kurenai. Itachi didn't seem surprised at all as he slowly turned around to face the Leaf Ninja. He was keeping his head lowered a little so that the hat hid his identity from the two. He didn't want to be revealed just yet.

"Mind your own business, Leaf Ninja." Growled Kisame as he tightened his hold on his large sword. "We're punishing a couple of traitors, here."

Asuma just inhaled a large cloud of smoke before taking out his death stick and blowing the smoke out again. His eyes just narrowed a little as he merely glanced at a terrified Temari and Kankuro. He then merely glanced over at Kurenai, whose head dipped down as she gave the two men in red and black robes a very cool look. "Sorry," He began as he looked back at the two. "Those two are under the protection of the Konoha Village. Touch them, and you will be finding some trouble. Don't you think that's about right, Kakashi?"

"That's right, Asuma." Came the collected voice of Kakashi right behind Temari and Kankuro.

Both of the Sand Ninja grew very still when they heard his voice right behind him. They whirled around to see him standing right behind them, hands stuffed into his pockets and eyeing the Akatsuki members dryly. He wasn't looking happy to see these two, but he didn't look surprised either. "Temari, Kankuro, why don't you return to where we're keeping Gaara and stay with him?" He said calmly. Temari slowly nodded before she grabbed Kankuro's arm and started to pull him back the way they had come. They had almost left too if not Itachi suddenly appearing right before them, blocking off their path. But he wasn't the only one. Even Kakashi moved to barricade his path to the siblings. "Sorry. But your fight is with us, Itachi Uchiha." He warned him.

Both Asuma and Kurenai made a sound as if they were surprised to hear about who this Akatsuki was. They hadn't known who one of them were. But Itachi made a sound as if he was amused before he reached up and took his rice hat right off of his head, dropping it to the ground beside him. "We're here for the Tailed Beasts. Hand them over and we won't destroy your village." He said calmly.

"Yet." Added Kisame as he too dropped his rice hat.

Kakashi just gave the rogue Leaf Ninja a dry look before he reached over and lightly pushed Temari and Kankuro forward. At first they pulled back, afraid that he was offering them to Itachi. But he just gave them a reassuring look. "It's all right, you two. He won't dare to attack you with me right here. Just go protect Gaara." He told them softly.

Slowly, Temari and Kankuro took some unsteady steps towards Itachi, who made no move. His eyes were actually only on Kakashi. They swallowed hard before turning a little to go around him. But he never made a move towards them. He just kept his dark eyes on the silver haired Jounin in front of him. Once they passed him, they bolted as fast as they could. They didn't even bother to look back. They just ran. They didn't even look back when they heard explosions of the inevitable fight.

"Itachi! Our mission stated that we were to…." Kisame said frowning as he made a step to go after the siblings.

But immediately, Asuma and Kurenai were blocking his path, both with kunai in their hands and stern looks on their faces. Itachi, however, just dipped his head lower as he smirked dryly right at Kakashi, who reached up for his forehead protector, pushing it upward. "I don't care about the mission right at the second. Nor do I care about those two. We have plenty of time to get the Tailed Beasts. But right now, we need to deal with these three." He stated.

And that was only the last thing Temari and Kankuro had heard. They were too busy running away to listen to the rest. But they found out that there had been a very serious fight between the Akatsuki members and the three Jounin. Kakashi had gotten pretty hurt by Itachi after falling for a very powerful Genjutsu. If it hadn't been for Gai going after them, after the two Sand Siblings returned to the hospital and telling him that they were there, Kakashi would have probably been killed. And after that, Sasuke ran from Konoha to find Naruto and Jiraiya before Itachi and Kisame could get to him. It wasn't too long before he came back, sorely beaten and with a destroyed sense of pain.

During the time of Naruto and Jiraiya's absence, Sakura had gone to visit Gaara a few times. She was a little worried about him, but it wasn't just that. She really wanted to be there when he woke up so she could talk to him about something. But she wouldn't tell anyone about what.

End Flash back

And now that Naruto and Jiraiya had returned with Tsunade, they went to the hospital to see to some of the injured people. Sakura was sitting with Sasuke, trying to keep him entertained but he really was not in a good mood at all. So she told Naruto of what had been going on. And she also told him that Gaara still had not woken up.

Naruto looked at the ground with his teeth tightly clenched and his shoulders shook a little. But he didn't say anything. He really didn't need to. Everyone knew that he was very upset about the situation with Gaara. He was the red head's best friend and he was still very worried about him after their fight. No one really could blame him. Other than Jiraiya, Naruto was practically the only one who was close to Gaara.

From behind him, Tsunade, a rather beautiful, young looking woman with long blonde hair and deep brown eyes. She could see the pain in his eyes as he looked at the ground. She knew he was extremely worried about this Gaara. She remembered what Jiraiya had told her about him. She remembered how he explained how Gaara even came to the Leaf Village from the Sand Village. He didn't really leave anything out so that she would know what to do with him. She knew it was going to be a mess when it was time for Gaara to return to the Sand Village, if he was to return. "Hmm." She then lift her head and glanced over at Naruto with a smile. "Naruto, we're done here. Let's go see to this friend of yours." She said, her voice sounding a little old but still young at the same time.

Naruto looked up with surprise before he smiled grandly and so did Sakura. They both looked a little bright eyed to hear that they were going to go see Gaara next. Grinning, Naruto looked at a moody Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke! We're going to go see Gaara now! We'll be back later!" He said brightly before quickly following after Tsunade and Jiraiya.

Sasuke didn't say anything. He just stared out the window, with a very mood look on his face. Sakura tried to smile at him but it faded as soon as she realized that he wasn't going to wish them well. So with a deep breath, she quickly followed after Naruto.

In Gaara's room, Temari was fixing the young red head's blanket, making sure it was pulled up to his chin and then fluffed his pillow. She had such a sad look on her face. She was extremely worried about him. It had almost been a month since Gaara and Naruto's fight and he hadn't even stirred. Not to mention, she had overheard that the Leaf Village's elders already complaining about him, stating that they should just end this coma by killing him. They really hadn't even known that Gaara was the One Tailed Beast carrier and had been furious that the former Hokage hadn't told them about him. He hadn't even said a word to them. Of course, Ibiki and Anko were defending Gaara from the Elders' verbal attacks. They even placed more guards around his room to make sure that one of the elders didn't send any assassins to kill him.

Sitting on the other side of the room, Kankuro was trying to concentrate on working on his new puppet but his thoughts were so distracted that he couldn't finish it just yet. He was almost done with it, if only he could. He glanced up at a sighing for the millionth time Temari before putting down the puppet and growling. "Geez! I bet if we just take Gaara back to Suna and go see Chiyo, we can get Gaara to wake up!" he grumbled.

The blonde Sand Ninja glanced over at him before shaking her head and brushing Gaara's bangs out of his face. "Kankuro, we can't go back just yet. Not without Gaara being awake." She frowned as she looked at him as he grumbled. "Do you really think we can take the Akatsuki on our own with him asleep? They will kill us before we even had a chance." She told him sternly.

"Bah!" Kankuro grumbled but didn't say anymore because he knew that she was right. There was no way that they could fight the Akatsuki and survive it at all.

Before anything else could be said, the door was pushed open and Naruto came bounding into the room with Sakura right after him and three people following after them. One was Gai, of course. He had been guarding the door, after all. But with him was the Sanin, Jiraiya and a rather busty blonde woman. She was not a familiar person to the siblings at all, which was why they grew tense and quickly moved over to block the woman's path to Gaara.

"Temari, Kankuro, it's all right." Jiraiya said smiling at the two as he folded his arms over his chest. "This is Tsunade. She's the new Hokage and a very extraordinary medic. She's here to help him."

The woman, Tsunade didn't look offended at all to the two siblings' reaction. She actually expected them to over react like that. These two were Gaara's brother and sister, after all. Of course they would want to protect him from any unfamiliar faces. She just smiled a little when Temari and Kankuro relaxed a little and moved out of her way.

All eyes turned onto Naruto as he slammed himself into the chair beside Gaara's bed and grinned at the slumbering red head. "Hey! Gaara! We've brought Granny Tsunade! She's the lady who's going to help you! So wake up already, you lazy ass!" He said rather loudly but in a joking manner.

"Naruto!" Sakura snapped before clubbing him over the head with her fist. "Don't yell like that in here! It's not like he can hear you!"

Everyone just smiled as they watched Naruto rub the knob on the back of his head with a groan. Tsunade, however, just went right over to Gaara's bedside and began looking him over. "Actually, a coma patient sometimes can hear people talking to them. Sometimes it helps them wake up faster." She told the pink haired girl, who looked surprised by the revelation.

Naruto just grinned as he stood up quickly and practically jumped on the bed, bouncing a little. "Yeah! I knew that! Gaara, wake up now! I miss you, buddy!" He bellowed only to get slapped over the head by Temari this time. He went sailing to the ground with a loud thud. "Ow."

"You don't need to yell, Naruto. I'm sure he can hear you just fine." Kankuro said now rubbing his ear where he'd been somewhat deafened by the loud-mouthed blonde.

Tsunade just shook her head with a faint smile before she pulled back the blanket to Gaara's waist. She looked him over for a moment before lowering her head to his chest and listened carefully to his heart beat. She had to hold up a hand to tell Naruto not to say anything when he opened his mouth to remark something back at Kankuro. It was to her satisfaction that Jiraiya grabbed him and clapped a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. All eyes were on the blonde woman though as she listened to Gaara's heartbeat. After a moment, she lift her head and checked his pulse. She seemed satisfied for she nodded. Then she lift his eye lids and looked at his pupils, which retracted a little. She practically did a physical examination on him before she placed a hand onto his forehead and closed her eyes.

It was quiet for a very long time as everyone just stared at her or Gaara. No one dared to say anything, afraid that if they did something would go wrong. Naruto was even keeping quiet, though it was probably because Jiraiya's hand was still over his mouth.

After a moment, Tsunade opened her eyes and pulled her hand away with a deep frown on her face. She didn't seem so satisfied anymore. She actually seemed annoyed. "It's just as you told me, Jiraiya. The demon spirit inside of this boy is blocking his entire mind. It's keeping him asleep. But he can still hear us, or at least he should." She looked at the white haired Sanin with a frown. "There is nothing I can do right now for him. It's all up to Gaara if he wants to wake up again. He has to battle the demon through his mind and gain control again. Gaara has to learn that he has control over the demon, not the other way around. He'll soon learn if he remembers Ibiki's training with him. But now, it's just up to him." She told all of them.

Naruto peeled Jiraiya's hand off of his mouth and stared at his best friend with worry. "So, so, so, Gaara has to force himself to wake up then?" he asked.

Tsunade looked at him but then nodded. "In a way. He can wake up when he realizes that this is his body and not the demons. He is in charge of it. It's not in charge of him. But otherwise," She smiled around at everyone. "He's perfectly fine. His body is in good shape. He seems healthy. And if my opinion really mattered anyway, the sleep could do this kid some good. After spending most of his life sleeping only once a month, he could do with some rest." She said eyeing Gaara's dark ringed eyes.

"So…..we can just talk to him and he'll hear us?" Sakura asked, curiously.

Tsunade just nodded to the young pink haired girl before she turned to Gai when he placed his hand onto her shoulder before quickly redrawing it. It didn't bother the blonde woman though. She just looked somewhat curious of what he wanted. Looking at the ground, the bowl cut Jounin bit his bottom lip before looking into her eyes again. "Lady Tsunade, will you please come see to my student next?" he asked almost pleading.

"Sure. Lead the way." The new Hokage said now following him towards the door to leave the young Genin in the room with her patient. Jiraiya stood in front of Gaara's bed, looking down at him with a forlorn look. But then he turned and walked right out of the room.

There was a very long silence in the room as Naruto, Sakura, Temari and Kankuro looked at one another. They weren't sure what to do or what to say to one another. But then Sakura decided to go over to Gaara's bedside and pulled the blanket back to his chest, while looking down at him. "I hope Gaara wakes up soon." She said before reaching over and ruffling his blood red hair with a smile.

"Hey, Sakura." Temari said tilting her head to the side and placing her hands onto her waist. "Aren't you still mad at him for slamming you into that tree a month ago?"

Sakura bit her lip as she glanced over at the blonde but then she smiled and shook her head as she looked back at him. "No. I'm actually glad he did that." She got very wide eyed looks from everyone in the room. They were all looking at her as if she was crazy or ill. She shrugged at their reactions. "It hurt, yeah. But…..it made me remember something that I forgot about a long time ago." She told them.

"Huh? What was that?" Kankuro asked, frowning.

Sakura just smiled before she turned around and held up a finger to her mouth as if telling them to be quiet. "It's a secret between me and Gaara. So I'm not telling you." She told them and started laughing when Naruto pouted while the siblings gave her a dull look.

"What the hell?!" Tsunade suddenly blurted out while she was examining Rock Lee. She was completely surprised by what she had found from her examination. She had been looking the young teen over for a good solid minute. When she arrived, Gai and a nurse had explained to her what Rock Lee's situation was. She hadn't liked the sound of it at all. She knew just by his symptoms that it was serious. So when she began a physical examination on him, looking him over, she had been prepared to give the two ninja terrible news.

But that was before she actually took a look at his bones, using her Chakra. Now she was just staring at his back, leg and arm with wide eyes. She couldn't even believe what she was seeing.

Lee was trembling a little, knowing it was pretty bad news if she was going to say it like that. He knew it must have been bad. He could already feel the sting in his eyes as if he was going to cry any moment. Gai saw him trembling and looked like he was about to break down any moment. With a shaky sigh, he lowered his head. "How bad is it, Lady Tsunade? Is there any way you can fix it?" he asked quietly.

Tsunade didn't say anything for a long moment as she did a double take of what she was looking at. She pushed her Chakra into Lee's arm, looking at the bones very closely at all of the cracks and breaks in them before pulling back, alarmed again. She was quiet for a moment before she shook her head and pulled her Chakra out of Lee completely. "I'm sorry, Lee, that this has happened to you. I must say that when your arm and leg was crushed, it was serious to say that you would never be a Ninja again." She paused when she heard a trembling sigh escape from the Taijutsu specialist. "If it wasn't for your treatment, you wouldn't even be able to return as a ninja. It's a little unorthodox and not something that I would have done, but still, it's put you somewhere."

Both Gai and Lee froze when they heard that. They weren't sure if they heard her right. Did she just say treatment? And did that mean that he was a ninja again? Both looked at Tsunade with wide eyes of alarm. "Treatment, ma-am?" Lee asked curiously, yet surprised.

Tsunade nodded as she reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Yes. Your treatment…" Then she paused to see how confused the two were looking at the moment. She frowned deeply before she dropped her hands to her sides. "Lee, have you even received any treatment since the day of your injuries?"

Lee and Gai looked at one another before shaking their heads at the same time. They weren't sure where the new Hokage was going with this but it was clear that they were confused. "No. I don't think so. The medics had splinted my arm and leg and tried healing them but they couldn't do anything with the cracks and breaks." Lee told her.

"So you are unaware that there are rocks in your bones?" Tsunade asked in disbelief.

Both Lee and Gai looked wide eyed at her, completely stunned by what she just said. They had not been expecting that at all. More than less, that there were rocks in Lee's bones. "Rocks?!" Lee yelped in alarm.

"What do you mean that there are rocks in Lee's bones?" Gai asked just as alarmed.

Tsunade stared right back at them in disbelief. But then she sighed as she rubbed her nose again. "So you've received unauthorized treatment in restoring your bones. Great. I'm going to have a helluva time lecturing someone about this. But then again," She dropped her hand looking somewhat sly about the situation. "The unauthorized treatment you went through, Lee, has saved your career. Someone has caked sand into the cracks of your bones, packing it in tight and hardened it. Not only has your bones been fixed, but someone has made them as hard as rocks. With Chakra administration sessions, we can harden the sand and make it even stronger. Therefore, your bones will be as hard as rock." She smiled when Lee's eyes brightened. "Congratulations, Lee. Within a month, you will be returning to full duty as Shinobi."

Lee's face brightened and he felt his smile curl onto his face. But Gai was still a little surprised by the whole ordeal. He took the entire information into thought before his eyes widened in disbelief. "Sand…..someone put sand….." He lowered his head and closed his eyes, which began to fill with tears. He slowly smiled as he reopened his eyes to watch a very excited Lee. "Thank you…Gaara."


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine

"Hell. No." Gaara flat out said to the demon after listening to his demands. He was finally putting his foot down with this demon. Enough was enough with Gaara. He was tired of Shukaku always demanding things of him. It was time for HIM to demand things of the demon. Especially when the demon was inside his body. He was sharing his body with the demon, not by choice but he was still doing it. But now, he was taking matters into his own hands.

'What did you say, you little punk?' Shukaku growled, now leering over the red haired boy, his fangs bared and saliva dripping from them.

Gaara just dipped his head a little all the while glaring at the large Tanuki in front of him. He really didn't want to repeat himself but the demon wasn't giving him much of a choice. So he folded his arms and just glared up at his inner demon. "I said, Hell. No, you stupid raccoon." He remarked, ignoring the roar of rage from Shukaku. He didn't even acknowledge that the demon was kicking up a storm all around him. He ignored the sudden sand tornados now swirling all around him. He just kept his eyes on his inner demon's eyes. "This is my body that you're inhabiting. I will now be in charge of it. When I want your help, I'll ask for it, and you will give it."

Shukaku snarled at Gaara as he towered over him and looked very threatening. The human did not amuse him at all. 'How dare you, you weak human brat!' He growled, his eyes starting to glow a fierce yellow. 'I should rip you apart!'

Gaara found himself smirking at the very threat. As if he hadn't heard that one before. The demon had told him that once before when he annoyed him. But he had never taken him seriously. It wasn't like the demon could. But then again, he could possibly rip his mind apart, causing him to go insane. As if he wasn't already. But still, he wouldn't give the demon that opportunity. With a determined look on his face, Gaara unfolded his arms and pressed his hands together, concentrating hard onto his thoughts, swirling all around him. He needed to do this right if he was going to take back his body's willpower.

'What are you doing?' growled the sand demon.

But Gaara ignored him as he kept up his concentration. He just recalled all that Ibiki had ever told him about meditation. He brought together his thoughts before lashing out at the sand demon, who looked rather impatiently. He smirked coolly at the sound of the demon growling in pain at the mind attack that the red head just sent at him. Gaara opened his eyes to see the demon be tossed back away from him, before becoming very small, almost the size of a horse. 'A horse sized raccoon,' Gaara thought smugly to himself. 'How original.' Shaking his head he moved closer to Shukaku before grabbing a fist full of the demon's skin and pulling him close while glaring right into his eyes.

"Now, listen to me, Shukaku! And listen good!" Gaara said darkly to the demon. "This is my body and mine alone. I'm only letting you stay in it. I've had enough of your demands and your threats. I will not tolerate it anymore, got that?!" He warned Shukaku. "I'm in charge now! If you even think about trying to take charge again, I will find a way to seal you away for good. If you threaten my friends or anyone that I don't want you to again, I will make you suffer! I will kill us both if I have to! You will give me your power when I ask for it! We will no longer be a monster for innocent people to fear, Shukaku! We will protect them! Do we have an understanding?!"

For once in his eternal life, Shukaku had felt a cold sweat roll down his sandy back. His tail twitched nervously as he found himself staring wide-eyed at Gaara's cold teal eyes. 'How are you even touching me?!' He growled, though he sounded nervous.

"…" Gaara smirked up at the demon. "This is my mind, Shukaku. I'll do whatever I want in it. If I want, I can do as much damage as I want to you. But I mean what I say, Shukaku. This is my body, and I will now be in complete control over it."

Both the demon and the boy glared at one another, neither one happy with one another. They both wanted control over the body they shared, even though it did belong to the human and the demon was just being stubborn. But after a while of glaring, Shukaku's ears pressed against his head before he dipped it downwards. 'Geez, you are a real pain in the ass, boy.' He growled before yanking away from Gaara and lowering himself to all four feet, tail curled around his ankles. 'Fine. Doesn't look like I have much of a choice anymore. Looks like I've just become a damn dog on a leash.' But then he grinned a fang-filled smile at Gaara, looking as evil as he really was. 'Just remember though, boy. And there's no way you can change this bit, no matter how pissy you get. You fall asleep when it's not the full moon, this body is free game.'

"And you just remember, Shukaku," Gaara warned just as darkly as the demon had just spoke. "You hurt any of my friends or any the villagers, I will take the best decisive action I believe will see fit to your punishment. Even if it means destroying this body."

Shukaku grumbled at that threat, but looked away as the sand tornados swirling all around them dissipated and the area cleared. A very dark midnight sky appeared above them, surprising Gaara only a little. 'Fine. Have it your way, you pain in the ass.' The demon growled.

Gaara just smirked triumph to himself before it was gone again. He was making himself look as serious as he could as he folded his arms over his chest. "Glad to hear that you're finally agreeing with me, Shukaku. Now wake us up." He demanded. He almost grinned to himself when the demon grumbled but he felt the pressure all around him loosing. However, before Gaara could force himself to wake up, he heard something strange. It sounded like someone was whispering to him but he wasn't sure what it was. Frowning, he looked around before concentrating on listening hard. "What is that?" He asked, frowning.

Shukaku tilted his ears upward before he snorted. 'Someone's just talking to you, that's all. It's that human, Ibiki, if you're wondering.' He grumbled. 'You've had a lot of people talk to you since you've been out.'

Gaara just frowned curiously before he looked at Shukaku. He was a little surprised to hear that someone was talking to him and he was wondering if that really was possible. "Everyone's been talking to me?" He asked, somewhat surprised. He just saw the demon nod before he tilted his head to listen. He was wondering what Ibiki would want to say to him.

"...Hey, kid." came Ibiki's voice, which sounded more like an echo to Gaara and Shukaku. "You've got a lot of people worrying about you, you know? You need to wake up soon so that they'll settle down." There was a pause before there came a sigh, though it sounded like Ibiki was smiling. "Do you remember that talk we had a while ago? On the last day of our training? You remember that memory of mine that I showed you? Well...guess I was right. That brother of mine, Idate, was alive. Your three pals, the loud mouth brat, the pink girl and the Uchiha went on a mission to Tea Country to guard some brat in a race for some clan. Turns out, the brat was my brother." A low chuckle echoed all around Gaara, who just looked around the darkened sky. "I got to see him while picking up the three brats. He's sure grown. Though you'd probably knock me on my ass because I didn't keep my promise to you. I didn't hug the brat like I said that I would. I just turned and walked away from him."

Shukaku chuckled darkly when he saw Gaara pull a dry look on his face after hearing that. He knew that the human brat wasn't amused at all. 'Want me to knock him on his ass?'

Gaara gave the demon a very dry look as he looked up at him but then his dry look faded as he thought about it. Now that he thought about it, he did kind of want to. So he just grinned and nodded to the demon. "Just don't hurt him." He told him. He almost chuckled himself when Shukaku cackled before his eyes flashed and there came a loud sound of something hitting the ground.

"What the hell?!" came Ibiki's loud voice.

Somewhere near by came a screech of laughter, though it sounded oddly like Anko. So obviously she was there with him. She seemed to have found it very funny of Gaara's sand actually lashing out at the Jounin and pushing him out of the chair he had been sitting in. Shukaku had silently enlightened Gaara that was what he had done.

"Looks like Bloody Bob heard ya, Ibiki." Anko said still laughing.

There came a low chuckle before the red head swore he could feel something patting him on the head. He was pretty sure that it was Ibiki. "Guess I deserved that. Glad to see that you can hear me."

It was right at that very second, Gaara felt a foreign but not unfamiliar Chakra starting to inch into his head. He smirked to himself as he realized what Ibiki was about to do. He glanced over at Shukaku, who started growling. "Let him come, Shukaku." He ordered quietly.

And came Ibiki did.

Ibiki's figure flickered right next to him and he did look surprised that he actually got through Shukaku's barrier. It showed plainly on his face. He had almost pulled right back out from being so surprised. But seeing Gaara standing right in front of him, in this subconscious world, he pushed his Chakra back in, becoming a clear image for the boy to see. He stared in surprise at the smirking red head, though his dark eyes flickered up at the grumbling demon behind him. He was only a little surprised to see the demon a slightly smaller form right behind his host. "Gaara..." Ibiki murmured.

"Coming to check up on me, huh?" Gaara found himself say quietly.

Ibiki blinked before frowning, his head tilting to the side. He looked somewhat confused but curious of what was going on. But there was a look of relief in his eyes as he just gazed at the boy. "You've gained control again? So I suppose that means that you'll be waking up again soon, correct?" He asked, a hint of a smirk on his face.

Gaara just nodded as he folded his arms. He glanced over his shoulder at the grumpy demon, Shukaku before turning his teal eyes back onto the Jounin. "Let's just say, Shukaku and I have come to an understanding and he will no longer threaten the Leaf Village, or anyone else again. If he even thinks about doing it, we both will pay the ultimate consequence. I give my word on it." He said quietly.

Ibiki stared at him for a moment before he smiled and gave him a nod. His own thoughts told Gaara that he was glad to hear that, but more glad that he was all right. "Good. I'll probably inform the Fifth Hokage then that you're recovering just fine and should be waking soon." He told him before turning away. He, however, stopped when he felt the surprise from Gaara. The surprised feeling was so thick that it couldn't be missed. He paused before turning slightly back, seeing the surprise on his face. "Oh. That's right. You don't know." He went quiet for a moment before sighing. "The Third Hokage is dead. He was killed in the heat of battle when...when the Sound and Sand Ninja attacked our village. It's been almost a month in a half since you've been in a coma, Gaara. A lot has happened since you've been out of commission. The new Hokage is Tsunade, the world's best medic and one of the Legendary Ninja, other than Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Jiraiya and Naruto had went to find her."

Gaara just stared with wide eyes before his face fell into a look of sorrow. He couldn't believe this. The Old Man Hokage had died? Had it been his fault? What had happened? But what else had he missed? His thoughts then went straight to his older siblings and he felt his body jolt. His head snapped upward and he looked at Ibiki seriously. "Temari and Kankuro. Are they all right? What of them?" He asked, frowning.

Ibiki just smiled his rough way before shaking his head. "They're fine. They haven't left your side since you've been in the hospital, since that's where you're being kept. You've had a lot of visitors lately. The blonde brat, Naruto's been to see you a lot. From what I've heard, before his missions with your other pals, he's been coming every day to see if you've woken up yet. Most of the Konoha Genin have come to see you too." He was suddenly smiling as if he found something very interesting. "That pink haired girl's been bringing you flowers." He remarked.

That really got Gaara's attention. His eyes lit up in surprise but then he looked away. He couldn't believe that Ibiki had just said that. Was he really kidding? Had Sakura really been to see him, bringing him flowers? No, that couldn't be true at all. There was no way she would do that. Not after he had hurt her like he had. Not after he had let Shukaku hurt her. He turned his head away. "You shouldn't say things like that." He muttered.

The Jounin just grinned at him before shaking his head. He wasn't going to bother and try to change the kid's mind. He would see for himself when he woke up. He turned his head away from Gaara, frowning softly. "I also heard something rather interesting recently." He waited till Gaara was looking at him again before he smiled at him. "The boy, Rock Lee has recovered rather nicely. He's still a little weaker than usual but Tsunade has given him the bill of health. He'll become a Shinobi again due to the fact that he received unauthorized treatment in restoring his bones. It seems that," He paused, noting the smug look in the red head's eyes already. "It seems to me that someone has restored the boy's bones by using sand, hardening it until it was hard as stone. He'll make a full recovery by the end of the month. Gai's very grateful to what you did, Gaara. He even dropped off one of those green uniforms as a gift for you." He said before bursting out into laughter when Gaara's face twisted into a look of horror.

Even Shukaku had a look of horror and disgust on his face. He even growled threatening before he burst into laughter as if he was thinking about Gaara in a green leotard.

Gaara shot the demon a dark look as if he had read the demon's mind before looking dryly at Ibiki. "There's no way in hell I'm going to wear that stupid green outfit." He growled.

Ibiki just grinned and shook his head as if he found that the funniest thing ever said. And he probably did. But then with a shrug, he turned slightly away. "Wake up soon, Gaara. You'll make a lot of people happy." He told him before he released his Jutsu, leaving Gaara's head. Gaara just smirked to himself before he looked up a grinning sand demon. They seemed to be getting a long a lot better after their new call of truce. So with a shrug, Gaara concentrated on waking himself up. He was very satisfied that Shukaku hadn't even bothered to try and stop him. He just rumbled a little before pushing Gaara into consciousness.

The first thing that Gaara actually saw was a rather bright light shining down on his face. It was no doubt the sunlight shining through his window. He growled in irritation as he winced at the bright light before he tried to lift an arm to shield his face. It felt very heavy though. As if there was a heavy weight on it. So he just inched an eye open and he glared at the offending light shining on him. His eyes flickered over to see his large sand gourd sitting in the corner. With his one eye narrowing until it was nearly closed, he summoned sand out of the gourd and had it closed the curtains so that the light wasn't shining on his face anymore. Once the window was closed, he noticed something on the table next to him. Both eyes opened a little in surprise to see a blood red rose sitting in a vase.

"Sakura….." He whispered before feeling a dizzy spell swirling his head.

Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to make his head stop spinning. He felt so tired, as if he had been rolling down a very big hill. Laying there for a moment, he became very aware that he wasn't alone in the room. He opened one eye and looked around, only to see a smirking pair of Jounin, Ibiki and Anko watching him. They were both standing at the bottom of the bed, looking rather smug. They weren't the only ones in the room.

Next to them stood a very beautiful blonde woman that he didn't know. Her hair was pulled back into two ponytails at the nape of her neck. She was sure busty though, and that made Gaara's face heat up a little to see how large and revealing her chest was. So he tore his eyes away from her and looked at Ibiki.

"Welcome back, brat. Glad to see you're awake finally." Ibiki said smiling at him.

Anko just grinned at the red head before placing her fists onto her waist and shifting her weight to the other foot. "It's about time, Bloody Bob, that you woke up. Now I'll have someone to throw my kunai at that can dodge." She said, now reaching for a kunai.

Gaara gave her an acid like look, almost daring her to throw something sharp at her. He had just woken up from a month in a half coma and already she was going to attempt to kill him in her playful way. This was just getting better and better, wasn't it? However, before Anko could even touch her kunai, the blonde woman beside her gave her a sharp look. "Anko! Not now. He's just woken up and I do not want my hospital torn up just because of your dangerous playful ways." She said sharply. Anko just cackled with laughter before taking her hand away from her kunai. Then the blonde woman looked back at Gaara, her eyes a little soft. "So, you're Gaara. I've heard a lot about you from Jiraiya. He really cares a lot about you, you know?" She then moved over to Gaara's bedside, now resting a cool hand onto his forehead. She didn't even acknowledge the look of warning he gave her. "I am Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. I've been looking after you since I've arrive in Konoha. It seems to me that you're going to make a full recovery soon. Good." She told him. Gaara just laid there, trying to think of something to say to her. He wanted to say something but nothing was coming to his mind.

Suddenly the door opened and two moping Sand Ninja walked in, looking extremely depressed. Both Temari and Kankuro looked like they were down on their luck. That is, until they saw Gaara's eyes on them.

"Gaara!" Temari shrieked in surprise before racing Kankuro over to the bedside. She had tears in her eyes but a huge smile on her face, while Kankuro was grinning rather stupidly. "Gaara! You're finally awake! When did you wake up?! Are you okay?! Are you feeling well?! How are you feeling?!"

Gaara felt his lips curve upward a little at his older sister's rapid questions but he shook his head. Tsunade, however, glared at the blonde Sand Ninja. "Hey! Hold up with the questions. Let him have time to answer one question." She said, already giving Gaara the idea that she had a short temper.

"So, Gaara. How are you feeling?" Kankuro asked, deciding not to be like his sister and piss Tsunade off.

Gaara just made himself sit up against the headboard while rubbing his head. He was quiet for a moment before looking at his older brother. "Fine. Just a little dizzy. And my body is kind of tingling." He told him quietly.

Tsunade nodded as she placed a hand onto her curvy waist and tilted her head to the side. "That's the after effects of being in a coma. You've been asleep for so long that you're body is still tired. It's slowly waking up though. You should be all right after a little more rest." She told Gaara. Gaara just thought to himself for a moment before looking at the door as soon as someone came screeching into the room.

It was Gai.

"Lady Tsunade!" Gai exclaimed, surprising everyone. He looked as if he had been running a mile. But as soon as he saw Gaara awake, he smiled his sparkling smile, looking extremely excited. "Gaara! My youthful boy! You've finally woken up! It's all in the power of Youth!" He said now practically skipping over to him. Gaara grew very tense while a sweat drop appeared under his bangs before a sand wall shot up between him and Gai, who started pouting. "Aww. You still don't like me. All I wanted to give you was a great, big, youthful hug!"

"Over my dead body." Gaara said dryly before shooting Kankuro a dark look when he started laughing hysterically.

Amused, Tsunade shook her head before looking at Gai, who was still pouting. She frowned for a second then folded her arms. "You sure came back rather fast. How did your mission go?" She asked, one eyebrow cocked.

Gai just looked at her with a sparkling grin before giving her a thumbs up. "It went just great! I came back as soon as I could to check on Lee! How's he doing? Is his bones fully restored yet?" He asked before his eyes grew very wide as if he remembered something. He whirled around and looked at Gaara, who was slowly calling his sand back into its gourd. "That reminds me! Gaara! I owe you my entire life! I am so grateful for what you did!"

Gaara frowned as he looked up at him, wondering what in the world this weird man was talking about. He hadn't really done anything for Gai, so what was it that he was thanking him for?

"He means of what you did for the Lee boy, Gaara." Ibiki said, reading the look on the red head's face.

Gaara blinked in thought before he remembered what Ibiki had told him in his mind not long ago. He remembered what he had done for Lee. He felt his face soften as he looked up at an equally soft-faced Gai, who reached over and patting the boy on the head. "Thank you so much for Lee, Gaara. If it wasn't for you, he would never be a ninja again. And it would have killed him. You've saved his life. Thank you so much." He said softly.

Tsunade tilted her head to the side, looking somewhat amused and annoyed at the same time. "Speaking of which, it was unauthorized of what you did, Gaara. It could have killed Lee if you had done it wrong." Her eyes met with the red head's, who looked just as annoyed that she was lecturing him. But then her face softened again. "But then again, you did save him and his career. And for it, I will leave it at that. I'm curious though. How did you know how to insert the sand properly into Rock Lee's bones?" She asked.

Gaara looked away. He knew very well where he had learned it. And thinking about the person who taught him how to do it made his eyes darken. "Yashamaru. He was a medic and I asked him if he knew how to do it." He said quietly.

Both Temari and Kankuro looked at one another with worry. They already knew that this was getting a little touchy for Gaara. And they couldn't blame him for getting a little moody by discussing Yashamaru. After all, their uncle, his uncle had pretended to be his friend and then tried to kill him.

Tsunade, however, lowered her eyes. She had heard about that subject from Jiraiya. She had heard that the Sand Ninja, Yashamaru, who was also one of Gaara's last standing relatives, had befriended the young demon carrier and then tried to take his life under the orders of the former Kazekage, the Sand Siblings' father. In truth, she understood why the Fourth Kazekage had wanted Gaara dead. He was a powerful ninja to even have in an enemy's hands. But demon carrier or not, Gaara was still young and he was human. It was not right for anyone to take his life just because of a reason like that. Not wanting to discuss it anymore, she decided to distract Gaara's thoughts by revealing something that the Third Hokage had wanted. "Gaara, you have become Chuunin, along with Shikamaru Nara."

That made everyone shut up and stare at her.

"It was requested by the Third Hokage himself, Gaara." Tsunade said smiling. "No matter the situation. Right after your fight with Sasuke Uchiha, during the raid on the village, he wrote a message and sent it off to Jiraiya, stating that you are to become Chuunin. No one else is to know about it." She shot Gai a look, as if pinpointing that demand onto him. "It stated that your level is of Chuunin rank already and that you're ready to…"

Slam!

The door slammed open and a medic rushed into the room, catching everyone's attention. He was quite out of breath, and looking very worried. "Lady Tsunade!" He gasped, making the Hokage frown seriously. "Rock Lee is gone! He's going after the team that's gone after Sasuke Uchiha!"

That made everyone freeze right where they were at. Even Gaara, as he sat up abruptly. What did this guy just say? Go….after Sasuke? "What exactly have I been missing out on?" He asked, seriously, yet uneasy. Again, everyone glanced at him before there drew a heavy sigh. Gaara's eyes flickered over to the window to see Jiraiya leaning half way through the window. "Jiraiya…."

"Gaara, Sasuke has turned his back against the village. He's going to join Orochimaru for training and to become stronger. We've sent a team to go after him, to bring him back to the Village. Naruto's on that team. So is a fair few others." Jiraiya told him, rather stoically. Tsunade frowned before she turned and walked straight out of the room. Gai was quickly after him, as was the two Jounin.

Gaara, on the other hand, looked very annoyed and angry. He was furious that no one hadn't told him immediately. Sasuke had betrayed the village? And now he was leaving. But why? What had happened? "Jiraiya, what exactly has happened around here?" He asked, as he shoved the blankets off of him and climbed off the bed.

Jiraiya just climbed into the room, sitting on the window ledge. "Too much to explain now. All you need to know is that Sasuke's furious that Naruto and you have so much power and are stronger than he is. While looking for Tsunade, we had a run in with Itachi Uchiha and his Akatsuki partner," He paused when Gaara's attention perked up, looking at him with surprise. "Sasuke fought with Itachi and was beaten badly for it. And then after that, Naruto, Sakura and him went onto a mission to Tea Country to protect a runner for a race. Something happened over there and it set Sasuke off. Extremely teed off, he's left the village to go to Orochimaru to become stronger. Tsunade's sent Naruto off with a bunch of others. Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuga, Choji Akimichi, and Kiba Inuzuka and his dog. They're to bring Sasuke back alive. Shikamaru's the team captain because he's Chuunin now. However, I know for a fact that they're going to run into a lot of trouble." The white haired Sanin said, his hands folding together. "If I know Orochimaru, which I do, his men are not going to be on the same level as that lot. They are going to be more powerful than them. I'm afraid for Naruto's sake the most. None of them are ready to fight Orochimaru's playthings."

With a very serious look on his face, Gaara stood up before looking around for his clothes. He was not going to let Naruto and the others be in so much trouble like this. If they were in danger, he'd be damned before he let them die. "Where are my clothes?" He asked seriously.

"Gaara, you shouldn't be going anywhere. You've just woken up from a coma." Temari said with worry.

But the Genin, now Chuunin, shook his head, giving her a very stern look. He wasn't going to argue her with this case. He didn't care if he just woke up. Naruto needed his help. He knew that he did. He and the others of his team. "I am not just going to lie here in this bed and wait to hear if Naruto and the others have been killed. Nor am I going to let Sasuke go!" He said coolly. "Where are my clothes?"

Jiraiya smirked to himself before he reached into his pack and pulled out an outfit that Gaara hadn't seen before. It looked like desert clothes though. It wasn't what he used to wear. "Take this, Gaara. I went and bought it from Suna Village a little while when I was doing my research there. It should be about your size. And it'll be perfect for you." He told him.

(Ooc: Basically they are the new clothes that Gaara was wearing during that fight with Kimimaro.)

Gaara frowned but took the clothes, looking them over. The pants were somewhat similar to what he used to wear, only deep reddish brown. As for the top, it was a long sleeve, the same color yet it did have a desert look about it. With a satisfied look, he began to change into it immediately. He ignored the embarrassed shriek from Temari as she whirled around so that she didn't have to watch him get dressed. She was cursing him for even doing in front of her. But he ignored her. "Jiraiya, which way are they going?" He asked instead.

Jiraiya just smirked to himself before folding his arms. He knew that Gaara was going to be doing this and he knew he should have tried to stop him. But he wasn't going to. He knew this was something Gaara wanted to do. So he would support him. "I'll lead the way. I've already discussed it as a mission with Tsunade. She wasn't happy but she knows that you might take off on your own after all. So it's your first mission as captain." His eyes flickered over to Temari and Kankuro. "Captain of Team Sand. You're new team partners will be Temari and Kankuro." He told him.

All three siblings looked at one another with surprise but then they all nodded, seeming to agree with the situation. So they would go by it. "Very well. We shall leave soon then." Gaara said stoically as he pulled on his sand gourd. Jiraiya only nodded with a determined smile but then paused as his eyes looked straight at the door. Gaara had sensed her presence too, as well as his brother and sister growing very stiff. Slowly, he turned around only to freeze to see her.

Sakura was standing at the door, looking surprised to see him awake. Her eyes were a little red from crying and she didn't look so well. She was staring at Gaara as if he was a ghost. "Gaara….." She murmured before rushing forward.

Gaara winced mildly as she came closer. He was pretty sure that she was furious with him for what he had done a month in a half ago. What he and Shukaku had done by slamming her into a tree. Of course, she must have been pissed at him for hurting Sasuke like he had. So he was expecting her to slug him. He even closed his eyes, turning his head away a little, bracing for the hit.

But instead, he felt her throw her arms around his chest and bury her face into his shoulder.

Surprised, Gaara opened his eyes and looked down at the crying pink haired girl hugging him. He was just as startled as Temari and Kankuro were. But he saw Jiraiya smirking to himself, as if he found this the most funniest thing he'd ever seen. Choosing to ignore him, Gaara turned his eyes back down onto the shaking Sakura, trying to decide what to do. "Sakura….."

Sakura shook her head as she cried into his shoulder, hugging him tighter. "Gaara! I was so worried! I was so scared that you might never wake up again!" she gasped before pulling slightly away and looking up at him with teary eyes. "Sasuke! He's ran away, Gaara! He's turning against our village! I can't stand it! My heart is breaking! I…..I saw him the night before he left! He….He….I cou-couldn't even stop him, Gaara!" She cried before shaking her head. "Naruto's going after him!"

Gaara looked at her, his face passive before he pulled away from her and turned slightly away. "…" he hummed before shifting his gourd again. "Temari, Kankuro, Jiraiya…..let's go now." He said quietly. He saw the three nod before starting towards the window.

"Gaara!" Sakura said with surprise. "You're going after them, aren't you?"

Gaara only nodded as he took a step away from her. "Yes." He paused before glancing over his shoulder at her. "Sakura, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you that day. I didn't want to. But I couldn't control Shukaku. And I let him hurt you. I'm sorry." He told her before he started towards the window.

However, Sakura stopped him by throwing her arms around him again, burying her face into his neck. She felt him grow stiff in alarm but she just shook her head. "It's okay, Gaara. I know you wouldn't hurt me intentionally." She whispered to him, her tears still falling down her cheeks and landing on his skin. "Sorry. I don't mean to get you all wet from me being a cry baby." She told him, blushing as she pulled away. But she stopped when he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her back. She looked at him with surprise, but then her face softened when she saw the look of comfort in his eyes. "Gaara…..please…..please bring Sasuke back to me. Please…help Naruto. And please be careful." She said, tightening her hold on him. "If anything were to happen to you, Naruto or Sasuke…it would hurt me so bad. Just be careful. Come back to me safely."

The red haired Chuunin looked down at her, somewhat surprised for her concern. His eyes gazed into her emerald ones for a long moment before they softened and he nodded. "I promise." He told her quietly before giving her hands a light squeeze of comfort. Sakura smiled at him before she released him. She watched as he, Temari and Kankuro hurried over to the window that Jiraiya had just climbed out and began running away from the hospital.

As they were hurrying away from the Leaf Village, side by side, Gaara saw his siblings looking at him while Jiraiya looked forward with a sly smile on his face. He gave them all a look of annoyance but question. Temari just smiled at him with a soft look as she ran along the tree tops beside him. "I'm just glad that you have someone that you care for so much other than just Naruto." She told him.

Kankuro nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Glad to see that you have a girlfriend." He said grinning.

Gaara shot him a dark look before speeding up. "Shut up, Kankuro. Sakura is only a friend. It's not like that between us." He growled at him before looking forward, his eyes growing a little sad. "Besides, she's in love with Sasuke. And Naruto's in love with her. There's only room for me to be a friend." He murmured too quietly for Temari and Kankuro to hear. But Jiraiya heard it otherwise. The white haired Legend glanced over his shoulder at him with a soft smile on his face before looking forward again.


	30. Chapter Thirty

The four of the Ninja rushed through the forest as fast as they could, not stopping for any breaks. They needed to find the others as soon as they could. Gaara didn't like the idea of one of Naruto's team, or the blonde himself being hurt because they were chasing after Sasuke. He wasn't sure what he would do if they got hurt, or worst; killed.

But as they ran, they came to a sudden stop when they saw part of the forest torn up. It looked like an epic battle had taken place here. There were holes everywhere and traces of Chakra but there was also blood everywhere. They knew that a fight had been there. And sure enough, the four found a dead body of a ninja that they didn't know. A Sound Ninja, and a very large one at that.

But Gaara's eyes were on the now skinny form of Choji Akimichi, leaning against the tree. And he looked dead.

The red head hurried over to him and checked for a pulse. He hoped that Choji wasn't dead. He hoped that he was all right. He found the pulse but it was very weak and it was slowing down. Frowning with his teeth clenched he looked up at Jiraiya who quickly joined him. "Jiraiya, is there anything you can do for him?" He asked quietly.

"Hmm." Jiraiya hummed now looking Choji over before his eyes softened into sorrow. "These injuries are very serious. He's dying as it is. The only thing I can do is send him back to the village and we can hope that the medics can save him."

Gaara looked back at the usually chubby boy's face, before sighing and nodding. "Please, do it then." He said quietly.

Jiraiya just nodded before biting his finger until it bled before slamming it down onto the ground, summoning up one of his toads. The toad was rather medium sized by it looked able to carry Choji. "Take the boy to the Konoha Village Hospital immediately." He ordered the toad, who gathered Choji up onto his long sticky tongue and was quickly off.

Then the four were running through the forest again as fast as they could.

After a while of running at their top speed, they soon came another battlefield where they found Neji, extremely hurt. He had a hole in his chest, looking like he was about to die at any second. He was in worst shape that Choji had been. Frowning, Jiraiya didn't have much of a choice but to take Neji himself. He couldn't spare any more toads at the moment. Plus he knew that they would need to send Class A medics immediately to take care whoever else was hurt. "Just find the others fast, kids! I'll be back as fast as I can." He told him picking Neji up and running back the way he had came. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro kept going, all praying that they reached the others in time.

After nearly running almost the entire day and well to near dusk, Gaara sensed familiar scents coming different directions. He frowned as he glanced around as he ran, but then looked sharply over to Temari and Kankuro. He could feel several battles going on in three different directions and judging by Shukaku's senses, it was Shikamaru, Kiba and someone else. It felt oddly like Rock Lee. They were in serious trouble from what he could feel.

"Temari! Run to the East! Shikamaru Nara's in that direction and he needs help right now! Kankuro! Southwest! Kiba Inuzuka's in real bad shape! I'll go straight ahead to find Lee, Naruto and Sasuke!" He yelled to them as they ran. Both Temari and Kankuro nodded before they bolted into different directions.

Gaara's eyes just narrowed as he pushed his legs into pumping faster. He didn't like what he was feeling. Lee was definitely getting himself into a lot of trouble by fighting whoever that was that he sensed. There was someone up ahead with a lot of Chakra and a lot of power. It was definitely someone dangerous. 'Shukaku! Let's move it!' He thought roughly.

'All right! Brat.' Shukaku grumbled before letting his power leak right into Gaara's legs, causing him to move in a blur.

It wasn't long before Gaara found out where Lee was fighting someone. He was in a large open green field, fighting someone with very pale hair and markings on his face. He wasn't wearing a shirt and his skin was almost as pale as Gaara was, if not paler. He looked rather sickly though. But his power and Chakra was telling the red head otherwise. He was very powerful. Maybe stronger than Lee.

However, instead of just jumping right into the fight, Gaara stood off into the trees while summoning out sand to slid over the grass under their feet. While doing so, he watched Lee fight the pale Sound Ninja. It made him frown on the way that the Taijutsu specialist was moving though. He was staggering all over the place, while keeping up a very good speed. He didn't even seem to know what he was doing or who he was fighting. He was shouting at the surprised Sound Ninja, saying some of the weirdest things. Lee was acting as if he was drunk.

'Heh, heh.' Shukaku startled chuckling inside Gaara's head, making the boy tilt his head to the side. 'The little brat IS drunk. I'm picking up a high alcohol level from him. It seems to me that he's mistaken sake for medicine. But looks like he's become a better fighter when drunk. Look at him move.'

Gaara felt his lips curve upward a little. He had to admit it. But Lee was moving twice as fast as he used to in his drunken state, and he had become much more dangerous. 'Hmm. I wonder if you'll be able to keep up with me in that state, Lee.' He thought.

However, just as the battle was getting very interesting, it suddenly got too dangerous for Lee. The pale ninja had decided to take it to another level and to possibly end this fight with Lee. To Gaara's surprise, bones lashed right out of the Ninja's chest, trying to strike Lee. An oddly sharp rib sliced Lee's cheek, waking him up from his drunken state and sent him staggering to the ground. The ninja moved forward to make the final strike by thrusting a sharp piece of bone towards him and that was when Gaara moved.

The red head quickly summoned sand onto the field while blocking the ninja's bone blade from hitting Lee, and causing a minor explosion that sent both of the two, Rock Lee and the Sound Ninja flying away from one another. With a wave of his hand, Gaara used his sand to catch Lee from hitting the ground too hard. It startled both Lee and the ninja but nonetheless, the Taijutsu specialist was safe. "Huh? Who are you?" The ninja asked dryly now staring at Gaara.

"Sand Ninja of the Hidden Village in the Leaves. Gaara of the Sand." Gaara said quietly, yet dangerously.

"Gaara….." Lee said in surprise.

Gaara merely glanced down at him before looking back at the ninja, his arms folded over his chest. He just moved forward, to stand between Lee and the Sound Ninja, who just frowned as he watched him carefully before making a sharp sound as he threw his hands forward. Several bones shot from his fingers. Lee grew tense on the ground while Gaara just narrowed his eyes as his sand shot in between him, protecting him from the spiraling bones. The bones almost went through the sand shield but they stopped centimeters away from his face before dropping down into the grass. "You're too hasty." He said quietly, while looking the Sound Ninja right in the eye before glancing over his shoulder. "When you fought me before…..you had more speed and edge to your moves."

Rock Lee just made a face before he pushed himself to his feet. "As if you had nothing to do with that, Gaara." He stood up and smiled over at him though. "I'm not holding any grudges against you for what happened, but I did go through a lot of hassle because of you. Still, you did help me out a lot by fixing my bones and for that I will gratefully thank you."

"…I see." Gaara muttered before looking forward at the Sound Ninja again.

Lee frowned as he watched him carefully then dipped his head. "But, why are you here?" He asked, in a curious but also serious tone.

Gaara merely glanced over his shoulder at him. He was quiet for a long moment as he thought about how he was going to answer that question. But then he turned his eyes back onto the Sound Ninja before him and Lee. "I owe the Leaf Village…..and Naruto. He helped me. And now I'm going to help him." He said quietly. "As for why I helped you…..you are a comrade." However when he heard Lee shfting behind him into a fighting stance, Gaara just glanced over his shoulder at him before looking forward again. "I'll handle this."

"No! You can be the backup." Lee said sternly before he started to bolt forward. However, Lee didn't get too far as Gaara summoned up sand to grab his leg and trip him. The Taijutsu specialist just face planted into sand in the grass before whirling around and glaring at him. "Please let go!" He demanded. He then winced when he felt a dull ache in his leg, stating that his bones was still hurting him a little.

Gaara shook his head as he moved forward till he was once again in between Lee and the Sound Ninja. "You can't do anything right now. I will handle this." He told him.

The Sound Ninja just "hmmphed" before lifting his head, while studying Gaara's very appearance. "Gaara of the Sand. Like your nickname states, you use sand. I've been warned about you already by Kabuto." He said quietly, though Gaara heard him.

Gaara just frowned at the name that the ninja just gave him but then his memory flashed back to the face that name belonged to. He remembered the gray haired ninja that he met during the Chuunin Exams. He remembered how Kabuto had information on any ninja as he pleased. He also remembered how he hadn't really trusted the guy from the start. He had always came on a little shaddy. 'So, Kabuto was a traitor then. Why am I not surprised?' He thought.

'You're probably glad that you took that Ninja Info Card from him then, eh?' Shukaku rumbled.

Gaara ignored the demon but tilted his head a little as he watched the Sound Ninja pull in sharp looking ribs back into his chest, which made him narrow his eyes. But then he slightly turned his head when he heard Rock Lee gasp. "His attacks are based on bones! He can throw bones like he did before, or grow them out of his body! He can control it anyway he pleases!" The Taijutsu user called over to him. The Sand controller just dipped his head down, watching carefully. His eyes narrowed a little more when he saw a little movement at the fingers.

'Careful, brat! He's trying the whole throwing bones from the fingers trick again!'

And then the Sound Ninja moved. He leapt into the air as Gaara's sand lashed out in lightning speed to hit him before throwing the bone bullets at him. Immediately sand shot up to protect him from the bones. But the sand around the Sound Ninja began swirling around him and trying to hit him. Gaara watched as the Sound Ninja did flips over the sand and dodged them while throwing bones at him. But the sand only protected the red head.

"What an idiotic alias. You can't do anything unless you have sand." The Sound Ninja muttered as he continued to avoid the sand.

A second later, clumps of sand was falling from the sky like rain, making the Sound Ninja frown. It almost made Gaara smirk coolly as he summoned sand right out of the ground and wrap around the ninja's legs, surprising him. "But if I have sand, I can do anything." He said before stretching out a hand and starting to squeeze it shut. "You're the foolish one. It doesn't take any effort for me to create sand right from the ground."

More sand began to crawl up the ninja's body, wrapping him up into a glob of sand until he was entirely engulfed. It didn't stop until there was no sign of him.

"You got him!" Lee said excitedly.

Gaara just narrowed his eyes but shook his head as he started to close his fist. "Not yet." He said quietly before closing his fist tightly and there was an explosion of blood from within.

However, that didn't seem to stop the ninja. Gaara frowned and narrowed his eyes as he felt a struggle from within the bloody sand prison and he felt the ninja still moving around. He almost growled when he saw the ninja now pushing his way out of the sand. He could almost see the look of shock on Lee's face as he watched the Ninja pushing himself out of the sand. And he was actually a little surprised himself now. For covering his entire body, there were black lines crisscrossing all over his body. Gaara frowned even more as he saw bones sticking out of his body but slowly pushing back inside. "Those bones…..he's another monster." He murmured.

"Unreal….." Lee said in shock.

The Sound Ninja chuckled darkly as he dipped his head down and he narrowed his eyes at Gaara. "What pressure…..if I didn't create these bone masks right under my skin, I would have been crushed. I was taking you too lightly….but this sand will never catch me again." He remarked.

'OH YEAH?! Gaara! Teach him a lesson for underestimating us! Use that one jutsu that I told you about that you completely refused to do because you said it was too catastrophic!' Shukaku demanded.

Usually, Gaara would have snapped right back at the demon from within him for telling him what to do even after they had came to an understanding that the demon wouldn't be trying to be controlling again, but in truth, he saw no other way of beating this Sound Ninja. Not with a bloodline limit like the one he possessed. So he would have to do the Sand Burial. So without a word, he quickly slid his feet apart and stood in a horse stance with his hands slapped together. Sand began to shoot up from the ground all around him, making Lee yelp in surprise. The bowl cut ninja wasn't the only one surprised as the sand began to rise higher and higher before shooting towards the surprised Sound Ninja. Gaara's summoned sand had just become a tsunami wave now speeding towards the Sound Ninja. There were nearly a hundreds of tons of sand now rising nearly a eighty feet into the air and coming crashing down towards the ninja. There was no way he could dodge this attack as the sand spread out everywhere in the forest. Soon, the ninja was completely buried by the several tones of sand, nearly turning the forest into a desert.

"…..Did you get him?" Lee spoke up from behind him.

Gaara just pulled his hands apart, palms down as he narrowed his eyes over his created desert. "No." He simply said before quickly dropping down to the ground and slamming his hands down on the sand under his feet. "Sand Burial!"

The ground rumbled loudly before shaking and almost knocking Lee right off his feet. The sand tremor that Gaara caused was turning into an earthquake.

There was a long silence as Gaara let his eyes trail across the sandy forest. He was searching for any sign of movement at all. He was pretty sure that had finished the bone creator off but the demon within him wasn't so sure. He could feel Lee's shocked eyes on his back but he didn't pay any attention to him. Instead, his eyes snapped over to a sign of movement near a destroyed tree and he saw something rising out of the sand. "How persistent…" He murmured.

"Huh?" Lee asked before he yelped in shock. The Sound Ninja had finally rose up right out of the sand, right from under a tree trunk. He didn't look like a man anymore but a large salamander. "…! What is he?!"

Gaara didn't answer for he couldn't answer. And he surely wasn't going to let the Sound Ninja get another chance to attacking him and Lee. This had to end now. He was starting to grow very tired from using all of the sand. The Sand Burial was an attack that used a lot of Chakra. So he threw out his hands and caused the sand to start attacking the ninja, wrapping around him. He frowned deeper as he closed both fists, trying to crush the ninja.

But to Gaara's alarm, the ninja was now pushing through the sand at a run, trying to shake off the sand. Bones were sticking out of his back in spikes while his skin was no longer pale but red. He was no longer human looking but a monster. And he was coming at Gaara very quickly. Gaara turned his head sharply before slamming his hands down and creating a wall between him and the ninja.

That didn't stop the ninja though as he had wanted.

The ninja must have rather furious with the Sand Burial because he had a very dangerous look on his face as he rushed right through the sand and slammed into Gaara, knocking him back nearly ten feet. Gaara hit the ground rather hard, which cracked the sand skin on him. "Your "absolute defense," which has garnered such high praise…..is this its limit?" The ninja asked mocked icily. "This is a real shame." He lift his head a little when Gaara gritted his teeth with annoyance as he pushed himself to sit up. His cracked sand skin was falling from his face, showing exactly what kind of defense that he had. "But of course….you were covered in sand to begin with…."

There was sudden movement right behind the Sound Ninja getting both Gaara and his attention. "He's not your only opponent! Don't turn your back on me either!" Rock Lee shouted as he swung his leg. The Sound Ninja had just barely turned around only to get a very strong foot in the side of the head. There was a loud crack as bone shattered under Lee's rock hard leg.

Of course, the Sound Ninja wasn't completely defenseless. He had a tail too, which was covered in sharp blades of bone. It was swinging up behind him to stab him, making Lee's head spin around in surprise. But before the blades could strike Lee, Gaara was quickly on his feet calling up sand to block the tail from hitting his comrade. Still, the tail knocked Lee and the sand away from him, sending him sliding along the sandy ground.

"This sand of yours is starting to annoy me…..you will be the first to die, Gaara!" The Sound Ninja growled as he turned to glare at the red head then he bent his head forward as more bones began pushing out of his body.

To Gaara and Lee's shock, it was the Sound Ninja's spine, now turning into a nasty looking spear. There were sharp bone blades sticking out of the spine spear. And the look in the Sound Ninja's eyes were just as terrible. The ninja swung the spear at Gaara, which surprisingly stretched and started to wrap around the red head as sand came out to of the gourd to protect him. This wasn't very good. He was running out of sand and Chakra. But it didn't seem that the Sound Ninja was done though. He rose an arm where a sharp blade of bone began sliding right out of his arm, engulfing it entirely. It was a nasty piece of work and Gaara knew that this was not good at all.

"This is the thickest bone in my body….it will easily pierce through you and your pathetic defense of sand!" The Sound Ninja growled before he coughed up blood.

Gaara's eyes lit up a little when he saw the blood coming from his mouth. He was a little surprised to see it. But it then hit him as he looked right into the man's eyes. He was growing weak. 'He's dying.' He thought to himself. Still, he knew he shouldn't think about the ninja dying. He was about to get stabbed by the ninja's blade. And there wasn't any more sand that could defend him. So Gaara knew he had to count on Shukaku. 'Shukaku, you're turn. Defend us.' He called.

For a second, Gaara thought that Shukaku was going to ignore him. But then the sand on the ground began shift all on its own before it sprang right up into air, forming a very Shukaku like figure in between Gaara and the ninja.

"Supreme Absolute Defense! Shield of Shukaku!" Roared the demon himself.

The Sound Ninja didn't stop to stare at the Sand demon but thrust his spear towards it to pierce through the demon to get to Gaara. Gaara's eyes widened as he felt the spear passing half way through Shukaku's shield but then there was a loud crunch as the sand demon threw sand around the sound ninja's bones before crushing them to small shards. So Shukaku had done his part to protecting the red head.

"It's solid in deed." The Sound Ninja growled in irritation.

Gaara dipped his head down a little. "From underground, I collect the strongest minerals….with chakra, I pressurized them into dense sand around me. It's what I did with Rock Lee's shattered bones to repair them." He saw Lee's eyes widen in surprise as he stood up, looking at him with surprise. "You….your techniques and abilities….it's a bloodline limit, isn't it?" he asked, quietly.

The ninja just narrowed his eyes a little but he dipped his head into a nod. "The Kaguya Clan. I am Kimimaro. Now, it's my ability alone." He told him.

"…" Gaara hummed before raising his head a little. "You're the last of the clan. That means that here and now, your clan will be finished."

Kimimaro just snorted before shaking his head. "Heh. Maybe. Because of my body's illness….I won't last long, but….that destruction will not happen. For I am not alone." He then lift his head higher, looking very proud of what he was about to say next. "While I am fulfilling Orochimaru's aspirations…I will stay in Orochimaru's heart forever."

Gaara stared at Kimimaro for a long moment before he sighed and shook his head. He knew for a fact that this man didn't know Orochimaru's true feelings. After seeing him in the Chuunin Exams and hearing all about him by Jiraiya, he knew that the Snake Sanin of the Three Legendary Ninja didn't care about anyone but himself. So it was obvious that Orochimaru had tricked this poor fool into believing that he cared about him. "Orochimaru has brainwashed you. You're hopeless." He remarked before lifting a hand, surprising the Ninja. The sand surrounding him exploded all around him, knocking Kimimaro's spinal cord away from him and the ground under the Sound Ninja's feet began to grow very soft. Surprising Kimimaro, it began to sink with him, becoming a sand pit. Gaara was using the rest of his Chakra to end this fight for good.

Kimimaro struggled of course to get out but he didn't seem to have a chance at all. He was trying to push himself upward but soon, the sand engulfed him.

"You'll sink to a depth of 200 meters underground and be held there….with the pressure of the sand clinging to your body, you'll be unable to move even a finger." Gaara said as the sand sank even deeper. Then he dropped his hand, feeling like it was over. He heard Lee sighed in relief from where he was sitting before he slumped. "It's over now, isn't it?" He asked, making the red head glance over at him.

However, it wasn't just yet.

Suddenly the ground began to shake before sharp bones shot out of the ground, nearly piercing Gaara and probably would have if he had not moved back onto the grass. More bones sharp bones shot upward, eventually going towards Lee too. Gaara's eyes flashed when he saw his green clad comrade in the path of danger and knew if he didn't move quickly he was going to be stabbed to death by many spikes of bone. He quickly jumped into the air with a clod of sand rising up with him while lashing out his hand towards Lee. Before Lee knew it, he was thrown into the sky by sand and rose up higher and higher with Gaara, who was panting wearily as they looked down at the spikes of bone still rising out of the ground.

Moments later, nearly the entire field that was once just a green meadow was now a forest full of bones reaching for the sky. Both Gaara and Lee were staring down at the forest of bone, both very tired. The red head was barely even able to keep them floating in the air on the sand.

Lee was breathing hard from the sudden adrenaline rush after nearly being killed like that. There was sweat and dirt all over his body, along with dried blood on his cheek where Kimimaro But after a while, he turned his head and looked at an equally sweaty and dirty red head sitting on the cloud of hovering sand. "You….you saved me…." Lee muttered. "You're amazing, to be able to do something like this!"

Gaara merely glanced over at him, not really phased by his remark at all. He knew that Lee wasn't used to most of his abilities and didn't know too much about what he really could do. "I was always able to use the sand to carry me….it's a simple task. There was only one time when I couldn't do it and it was before the Chuunin exams. I couldn't keep myself above water, that is until I trained myself hard to doing it." He then turned his eyes down at the forest of the bones again. "He was a stubborn person, but this is the end. He won't come back out." He told Lee, who was staring at him still. Then they started to grow relaxed.

"It's not brainwashing! It's all my own reasoning!" came Kimimaro's voice from behind them. Both Gaara and Lee jumped and spun around with shock, only to see the Sound Ninja lunging at them from a spike of bone with another blade. "What the hell would you know?!"

Gaara quickly rose his arms, along with Lee to protect himself from Kimimaro's attack. He knew very well that there was no way he was going to be able to summon sand in time to protect him and Lee from the Ninja. If he tried, the sand under them would shatter and they would fall to their deaths onto the spikes. He didn't have enough Chakra to summon more up to protect them.

But…..Kimimaro stopped as it was from hitting them.

Both Gaara and Lee stared wide eyed at the now very still Kimimaro, waiting for him to continue on with his final attack. They were even more surprised to see that he was completely still and had blood dripping from his mouth. His eyes were starting to fade as they stared right into Gaara's teal eyes before they drooped. "….huff…..huff…..I'm…..dying….." He murmured before his head fell forward while his arm was stuck upward. He was soon dead while the two just sat there.

Slowly, after waiting for a long time to see if it was another bluff, Gaara's sand clouds with him and Lee drifted away from the dead Sound Ninja before taking them away from the danger. The two were dropped off by a pair of trees, where they sat down to take a breather, both staring at the forest of bones. They sat there for a long time in silence, just staring.

"…We would have been killed, wouldn't we?" Gaara muttered as he rest his arms onto his knees.

Lee looked over at him before shaking his head. "No. That's not it. Gai-sensei said to me….that luck is a part of the strength of youth." He told him smiling a little.

Gaara's eyes narrowed a little as he made a face. He really didn't want to think of the weird Jounin too much. It just made him think about how Gai tried to hug him earlier that day. "Gai is weird." He murmured.

Immediately, Lee sprang up, glaring at him with offense. He hadn't liked that remark at all. "He is not weird! He's a great person! Stop talking about my sensei like that!" He exclaimed.

Gaara was quiet for a moment but then his face softened as he kept his eyes forward. He knew that Lee had strong feelings for his Jounin teacher. He didn't know what his reason was, but now that he thought about it, he was the same way when it came to Jiraiya. "You too….." He whispered, surprising Lee. "If the one you admire is insulted, you become angry. If the person you admire is important to you….you want to protect him. You fight for that important person." He tilted his head upward as he stared up at the sky. "He….Kimimaro is a little like Naruto. Only the person that's important to you isn't always good….." He murmured, almost referring to himself. He knew that he was an important person to Naruto, but he wasn't exactly the best person either.

Lee stared at him for a moment before he realized that Gaara was talking about himself. "You're not a bad person, Gaara."

"But I'm not a good person. You shouldn't call me a good person after I nearly destroyed your life." Gaara said, looking away. "I almost killed you by killing your dreams. And it was the same for Kimimaro. Even if he knew that Orochimaru was bad…..a person can't defeat loneliness. People who are alone look to the first person who gives them comfort, good or bad."

'Kind of like how I trusted Yashamaru. And he tried to kill me afterwards.' Gaara thought to himself.

However, a single pat on his shoulder made him blink out of his thoughts and look up at Lee, who had a soft look on his face. He looked as if he understood the red head for the very first time. "Tenten told me what she said to you during the Chuunin Exam's month break. She also told me what you said to her. About an ache in your chest because of what you did to me. And Gai-sensei and I figured out what you did for me while you were in your coma." He then smiled even more softly. "I thank you very much, Gaara. I don't hold grudges and I wasn't angry at you before you restored my bones, making them as my name is. Rock. I hope we can be as close friends as you and Naruto are. Naruto is lucky to have a friend like you." He told him.

Gaara stared at him before his face softened right back and he nodded. He really didn't mind Lee that much anymore. Sure, he was a little weird in his way, but he was a person full of heart. So without another word, he looked up at the bone statue-like form of Kimimaro. 'Now, you are free to serve yourself.' He thought softly.

Later after resting up for a while, Gaara directed Lee back towards the Village, stating that he needed to find Naruto. He had to find out if Naruto manage to find Sasuke and bring him back to his senses. He needed to find out if he was even alive. Lee had wanted to go with him but the red head said no. "I need to do this alone, Lee. Forgive me. But I need to find Naruto alone. If I was to run into more trouble, you would not be able to help. You are too tired right now as it is. And you still need to rest so that your bones will harden well enough. I can deal with enemies now because of how fast I can recover with Shukaku's power." Gaara told him.

Lee sighed before nodding. "All right. As you wish, Gaara. But come back safely, my friend." He told him before he started on his journey back to the village.

Gaara watched him for a long moment before he turned and started running the direction that Lee told him that Naruto and Sasuke had went. He hoped that he could get there in time. He hoped that Naruto was okay. And he supposed he hoped that Sasuke was okay too. He had liked the raven haired boy as a comrade. He didn't want to see Sasuke leave the Village as a traitor. Not like his brother had become.

After almost a half an hour of running, Gaara came to a gasping halt on a Cliffside that overlooked a massive waterfall. He remembered this place being the border line of the River Country and Fire Country. It was somewhere near his former Country as well. The Wind Country. But as soon as he got there, and looked into the valley below, he saw a lone figure walking back towards the main road.

"Kakashi….." Gaara found himself whisper.

The red head saw that Kakashi was carrying something in his arms and it didn't take him even a second to notice that it was Naruto. The blonde looked too motionless though. But there was a faint trace of life inside his body, so he was alive.

But Gaara knew that he had come too late. He knew that Sasuke had beaten Naruto in their fight, seeing that the area was a little torn up. He knew that Sasuke had gone, leaving Naruto alive. But he was gone. And there was nothing Gaara could do now. He didn't know where his former teammate had gone. The rain now pouring from above would make it impossible to track him. "Sasuke…" he murmured, lowering his head. He closed his eyes in sorrow and pain. "Sakura…..I'm sorry. I didn't make it."

"So, you're the Sand Demon Carrier, the youngest son of the Fourth Kazekage. The son of the woman who tried to escape from us."

Gaara grew very still before his head jerked upward and he turned sharply to see who had just snuck up on him without even alerting his senses. Even Shukaku was startled that he hadn't sensed the intruder who dared to approach them. But the voice was not one that he didn't know. He had heard it before.

And sure enough, his teal eyes fell onto the lone figure of the orange masked Sand Ninja, or that's what he said he was; Tobi. Only, he wasn't alone. There was a tall figure right next to him. There was a very tall figure with him. At first, it looked like a plant of some sort. A giant venus flying trap. A giant venus flying trap that was wearing clothes. And not just any clothes. The clothes of an Akatsuki. And it had been this giant plant that spoke. Gaara grew very stiff as he looked at Tobi and the Akatsuki member, which the plant man slowly opened up the flytrap's mouth, revealing a man within it. A man with dark green hair and golden eyes looking coolly at him from the darkness within. Gaara could make out that the man was in two different colors. One side of him was black while the other side was white.

"This has become very interesting, hasn't it?" A cool but light voice came from the Akatsuki.

"Yes….in deed." The same man said again, only with a whole different voice.

Gaara drew back, his hair feeling like it was standing on end. He didn't like this at all. He hadn't been expecting to run into Akatsuki while looking for Naruto. And surely not run into Akatsuki while looking for Naruto alone. He knew that he couldn't fight an S class ninja right at this moment. 'Shukaku.' He thought hurriedly to the sand demon within.

'I know. We're in trouble. I'm tired too from fighting that Kimi-freak. Besides, tonight's the full moon. I'm tired.' Shukaku growled.

Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously as he immediately summoned a little sand to swirl around him, hoping it would intimidate them from fighting him. But for some reason, he doubted that they would.

However, Tobi made a sound as if he was laughing at him. It only irritated the red head a little more. But before Gaara could start moving to fight, the masked ninja held up a hand towards the Akatsuki when he started to move forward as if to fight with the red head. "Hold on, Zetsu-senpai. I don't think our little sand tanuki is plump as a strawberry just yet." He said, in a very playful tone.

That just made Gaara growl at him as he dipped his head lower, almost crouching. He could feel his hair standing on end on the back of his neck. These two were dangerous. He hadn't even seen what Tobi could do, so he wasn't even sure of his abilities. As for the Akatsuki, he knew that he was dangerous as it was. He was beyond a Chuunin. "What do you mean?" He growled dangerously.

"Hm-hm." Tobi chuckled as he folded his arms and tilted his head. "I mean, Gaara of the Sand, you're not completely ready to die just yet. I think it'd be best if we waited for a little while before beating the hell out of you and taking you back to rip that demon out of you." He was almost grinning right through the mask. "I think I'd rather have a challenge before killing you. Right now, you wouldn't even stand a chance against us. That Kimimaro guy did a real number on you. You wouldn't even be a match for us. Besides, you aren't our Tailed Beast to take down. You're Sasori's and Deidara's responsibility." He said, shifting his weight.

Gaara frowned as he straightened a little. He remembered the Deidara guy. He had been with Temari and Kankuro before the Chuunin exam. But he wasn't sure who this Sasori guy was. "Sasori?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"Uh-hum. He's the guy whose claiming to be Kazekage right now in the Sand Village. He helped kill your old man." Tobi said cheerfully.

Gaara felt a growl within his throat but then lift his head higher when he didn't sense a threat. He couldn't feel a murderous intent at all from these two. It was like they were rather good bluffers or they weren't going to attack him at all. "What do you want?" He asked darkly. "If your not here to fight me, then why are you here?"

There was a long pause as if Tobi was trying to think of how to answer that. He even turned his head towards the now extremely moody plant guy next to him, eyeing him through his one eye hole before turning his head back towards Gaara. "What I want, Gaara," He began a little too chipper. "Is a real challenge from you. I want to see your best fighting abilities. I want to see you strong enough to actually put up a real fight for your life. Right now, you are weak and tired. You wouldn't last five seconds against Zetsu, here. Therefore, we're going to let you go this one time. You are to train, Gaara. Become stronger." He dipped his head a little lower. "Because when the time comes to tear Shukaku from your weak body, we want a REAL fight and not some weakling. So you better train very hard and become a whole lot stronger than you are now."

"I'm strong enough as it is. I can take you." Gaara growled, a little offended that Tobi was calling him a weakling.

The Akatsuki next to Tobi grinned as if he thought was the funniest thing he had ever heard. And Gaara was sure that Tobi was grinning under that stupid mask of his as well. It was like they were mocking him with that smile. "Really?" The overly cheerful ninja asked.

Suddenly, he was gone a blur, startling Gaara as soon as he disappeared. The red head's eyes widened in shock and he quickly looked around for where Tobi had gone only to feel his feet get knock right out from under his body. The sand shield didn't even have time to register what happened and come to his defense. All Gaara knew was that his back hit the rocky floor hard and the gourd exploded into sand to cushion his fall. Still, the air had been knocked out of his lungs making him gasp and hack for air. If that wasn't enough, a foot slammed down on his chest, making it harder for him to breathe. Not to mention, a kunai was pressed against his throat, making his eyes snap open wide as he looked up in alarm at Tobi crouched above him. He couldn't believe that this extremely clumsy ninja was that fast. He was faster than Lee and even Gaara could barely keep up with him. He had practically teleported to be behind the red head.

"Now you listen to me, Gaara of the Sand." Tobi's voice no longer was cheerful but cold and mirthless. "You are not ready to fight Akatsuki. You are not even close to being the same level as we are. You may have a powerful demon inside of you, but it's power is only a step up to yours. It's not even enough to defeat us. You must train to enhance his power as well as yours. You will have no hope of survival if you fight us now. I am more powerful than you think I am, Gaara. I am not someone you want to trifle with. Train, boy, and become stronger. Because I do not want a weak ass demon." He said coldly.

Gaara tried to move, but found that he couldn't. He was pinned down by not only Tobi's foot but the eye within the mask. It was so dark, yet he could see a red glow from within it. He felt as if that eye was keeping him from moving at all. It was almost like…..it was almost like that red glow was from a Sharingan. And it hit him.

It was a Sharingan!

"Wh-Who are you?" Gaara finally managed to voice his question, not helping but tremble under Tobi's foot.

There was a long pause before Tobi removed his kunai and he stepped back away from the red head. There was still an air of danger surrounding him as he kept his one eye locked onto Gaara's teal ones, pinning him down with it. "Who I am, Gaara, doesn't matter to you. What matters is that you become stronger. Because if you don't, whose to protect your precious friend, Naruto. He's what we want too, remember that. He's the Nine Tail and the one demon we want the most. Kyuubi is the one key that will give Akatsuki exactly what we want." The one eye narrowed a little within the orange mask, still keeping Gaara paralyzed in unease. "Your village, the Sand Village is in a lot of pain as it is because of Sasori. But don't even think about rushing in there unprepared. Sasori likes challenges too. He's an impatient bastard but he's willing to wait for you to become stronger. Just this once. So don't disappoint him." He said now turning away. "You have only three years to prepare yourself. Make it good."

Gaara felt a wave of pressure just roll right off of him and he was allowed to breathe more freely than before, and move. He sat up while watching Tobi walk back over to Zetsu, who was smirking as if he was finding the entire situation amusing. The red head glared at him for a second but then pressed a hand against his heaving chest. He was in a little pain from getting a foot slammed down on it but at least it was over.

Frowning, he looked back up to glare at Tobi for what he did. But to his shock, Tobi and Zetsu was now gone.


	31. Chapter Thirty One

By the time anyone actually found Gaara sitting there on the cliff, it was late in the evening. He was still there at the Valley of the End, staring at the two statues as water fell in between them. He had been sitting there in silence for hours, just thinking about everything that had happened. He was very upset by the outcome of his day, of his life. He couldn't believe that things have changed so greatly just because of him, or so he thought. What would have happened if he had never came to the Leaf Village? Would the Third Hokage have died? Would Sasuke would have gone to Orochimaru? Would his parents be dead? And what if he had never been born? What would the outcome have come out of that? Did his life even matter to this world?

Questions were swarming around in his head, and he was thankful for Shukaku not even speaking up. But it was probably because the full moon was up that he wasn't even awake. Gaara's eyes narrowed a little when he felt someone approaching him but he wasn't worried about who it was. He had sensed him a mile away, due to Shukaku.

"Gaara." Came Jiraiya's low rumble. "There you are. I was worried."

Gaara's head dipped down lower but he kept his eyes forward, staring at the statues. He didn't say anything as the large white haired ninja moved closer to him. He also could sense two more presences moving towards them but he knew who they were too. "….."

Jiraiya stood above the red head before looking over his shoulder. "I saw that bone forest. Talking about weird. I can't believe that someone could create such a thing. I heard from that Rock Lee kid of what happened and what that Sound guy tried to do. Eh, he sounds like a weirdo." He remarked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"The forest of bone…" Gaara murmured, catching the Legend's attention. "It's to be called Kimimaro's Bone Forest from now on. It is to honor a great opponent. He was good enough to have that honor."

Jiraiya blinked a few times before he frowned and crouched down beside Gaara, tilting his head so that he could look at his face. He could sense the tension in his young ward's body. He could also sense a depressing feeling coming off of him. "Gaara, are you all right? Did something happen?" He asked, with a little concern.

Gaara didn't look at him but looked forward. He was quiet as he tried to think of what to say. He was sure that if he told Jiraiya about Akatsuki meeting with him, the white haired ninja would never want to let him out of his sight again. He had came way too close to being captured by them. But it was those two Akatsuki's choice for not attacking him. Still, he wanted to keep that part to himself. "I'm not strong enough to take on Akatsuki yet, Jiraiya. But I will be." His remark just surprised the Legendary Ninja. "I will be strong to kill Sasori and take my rightful place as Kazekage. And I will free that Village from the Akatsuki. All I have is three years. Then they will come for me even if I'm ready or not." He said in a low voice.

"Gaara!" Jiraiya said now putting his heavy hand onto his shoulder, and making him turn. He was now looking a little spooked about what the red head was talking about. He didn't like the tone of his voice at all. "What happened? What are you talking about?"

Gaara finally turned his teal colored eyes onto Jiraiya, looking serious as ever. He knew that his guardian wasn't going to like this bit but it was his choice. It was something that he had to do. "Jiraiya, I'm leaving the Leaf Village for a while." He shook his head when the white haired ninja gave him a look of alarm and warning. "Not for good. I need to train away from the village so that everyone won't be in danger. I need to be ready to fight for my life and everyone else's in the Leaf Village. And I need to be ready to free my home Village from the Akatsuki." He told him.

"Gaara…." Jiraiya said, still too surprised to believe it. "If you need to train, I can train you."

The red head shook his head as he stood up and faced him. He knew that Jiraiya couldn't. "No, you can't, Jiraiya. And you know it. You need to train Naruto. This is something I have to do. But I won't be alone." He turned his eyes onto Temari and Kankuro just as soon as they dropped down from the trees, surprising them. "I'm taking Temari and Kankuro with me. We will be together. They can train me the ways of the Sand Shinobi. Something that you can't do, Jiraiya. You and I both know it. I have to be prepared to fight for my life, and Naruto's when the Akatsuki finally decides to strike. And only they can help there." He told his guardian.

There was a long silence between all four. No one could say anything after what Gaara had just said. Both Temari and Kankuro were glancing at one another with a little worry but then they nodded as if they agreed with one another. They might have just barely arrived but they had already guessed what their little brother's decision was about.

"Jiraiya, he'll be safe with us. We know someone who can help him and would help him. Our sensei, Baki. He's the only person we trust in the Sand Village." The blonde Kunoichi told the white haired Legend.

Jiraiya glanced over his shoulder at her before looking back at Gaara with a very serious look. He stared at him for a long time before he sighed and nodded. "All right, Gaara. I get the point." He then reached over and planted his large hand on top of Gaara's head. "I will probably be training Naruto. You're right that he needs training. And I guess I'm the only one who can train that brat. But you better be careful. If anything happens to you because you were reckless, I will never forgive you, all right?" He asked sternly before he smiled.

Gaara's face softened a little but he didn't return the smile. Instead, he nodded as he stared up into Jiraiya's dark eyes. "I promise. I will be careful." He told him.

Jiraiya just nodded before pulling the already protesting red head into a hug. They embraced each other for a moment before they turned and started walking back towards the main path. "When will you leave?" He asked, looking at all three siblings now as they walked side by side.

Gaara looked away to think for a moment before looking forward again at the path before them. "Either tomorrow or the day after. I need to get started on my training immediately. Plus there are a few things that I want to take with me." He told him.

"It'll probably be better if you told Tsunade that you were going too, Gaara. She's got a nasty temper that lady and if you left without telling her anything, she'll get pissed." Jiraiya warned lightly. He made a face as he remembered how he had made her angry once. It wasn't a great experience at all.

Gaara merely glanced at him before nodding as he turned his eyes forward. He figured that would be best too. If he had just run off without telling the Hokage anything, he was pretty sure she would have sent someone after him and it probably wouldn't have turned out very well. He didn't want the Hokage to send Ninja Hunters after him. He did not need their trouble while he was training. It would attract too much attention to him. And he had a feeling that was a bad idea. "Yes. I will tell Tsunade then." He told Jiraiya.

And that he did.

But it didn't mean that Tsunade was happy about it. And she seriously wasn't. That night, when Gaara returned with his siblings and Jiraiya, he immediately told the Fifth Hokage what his plan was. And she had this very dry look on her face as she stared dully at him, her hands folded together in front of her face. There was a long silence in the room as she just gazed at Gaara through her dry brown eyes. He stood before her desk while his siblings stood off to the side, both looking a little worried. Jiraiya stood with them, his eyes trained on his former teammate. He knew that she wasn't happy. He could already see a vein pulsing on her temple. So her temper was acting up.

After a while, Tsunade lift her head higher, her hands folded in front of her. "So, you wish to leave the Hidden Leaf Village then." She said dryly.

Gaara's head dipped down but his eyes never left the Fifth Hokage's. He didn't want this to turn into a nasty situation. He really hoped that the Hokage would just let him go and be done with it. But then again, he knew very well that she didn't want him to go because he had the power of Shukaku. "Hokage-sama, I am not one of your own Ninja. I was not born here. I may have been raised here, among the children of the Leaf. But I do not truly belong." His head lift up a little as he looked somewhat proud. "But in truth, my loyalty is with the Leaf Village. If there was to be any danger to come to this place, I would swiftly return to defend it. But I cannot help but listen to the cries of the people of my birthplace." His head tilted around so that he could glance at his siblings, knowing that they were a little apprehensive about this situation. "My brother and sister has told me what has been happening in Sunagakure. It is true that I do not know the people there, but they are my parents' people, my people. I must do what I can to save them from the clutches of the Akatsuki." He told Tsunade in a low voice.

"And what if you're discovered, Gaara?" Tsunade asked, lowering her hands a little impatiently. "You could be walking right into a trap. What good would that do if you were caught by the Akatsuki?"

There was a very long silence as Gaara lowered his eyes in thought. He had thought of that, but didn't really have an answer. He knew he could just say that he would fight until he killed the Akatsuki. But then he was just a Chuunin. "Hokage-sama, Tsunade-sama," The red head spoke, his voice very serious as his eyes was. "I will not be caught. And even if I were, I would do everything in my power to make sure they don't get Naruto. I will protect him, this Village and my own Village with every breath I make. I will protect those I care about because they cared about me. That….is my ninja way." He announced, taking a leaf from Naruto's book.

And his words had taken the room's occupants by surprise. For a very good long moment, they saw Naruto standing in Gaara's place. They knew he was serious. This boy hardly ever joked as it was. But after a while, Tsunade let out a long sigh before she lift her head up and she met Gaara's eyes, looking serious but there was a hint of a smile on her face. "Gaara," She began quietly. "I will respect your wishes then. You may go then. But you are to keep in constant contact with me. I want messages sent to me every month, just so that I will know that you have not been captured."

"Very well." Gaara said before bowing his head to her, then he started to turn away.

Tsunade held up a hand as if to stop him, which caused him to turn back. She took a deep breath then looked the red head right in the eyes. "Gaara, be careful. Be safe while in your training. You have lived a very hard life as it is." She told him. "Just like Naruto. It is not fair to you or him, that you have been treated as you have been by the villagers. I wish you luck, Gaara. And a safe training."

Again, Gaara bowed his head, a little more grateful than before. He was somewhat touched by the Hokage's words. It wasn't every day he got words like that from any adults other than Jiraiya or Kakashi. "Thank you, Hokage-sama." He said quietly before turning away and looking right at his siblings. "Temari, Kankuro, let's go."

Temari and Kankuro glanced at one another but nodded as they turned towards the door, starting to leave. They hesitated when Gaara did, pausing to look at Jiraiya. They could see the worry in the large ninja's eyes. They knew that he was worried about their younger brother, and even for them. But he gave them a faint smile and a nod towards the door, telling them to leave. Gaara just nodded back to him, his head lift up high. It was time for them to go.

It was early morning when Gaara and his siblings planned to leave. The three of them had stayed in Gaara's apartment over the night and packed a few of his things up that he wanted to take. One thing, being a picture that had been taken shortly after he had been placed on Kakashi's team. It was a picture of Team Seven all together. Sasuke and Naruto were glaring at one another; Sakura was smiling at the camera; Gaara stood next to Naruto, looking uninterested. And of course, Kakashi standing behind them, both hands on Naruto and Sasuke's heads. The rest of his things, he was leaving behind.

Before the sun was even up, Gaara was leading Temari and Kankuro towards the Konoha gates. He wanted to get out of there before anyone saw him. It would make things less painful.

"So, you are leaving without saying goodbye."

Gaara immediately stopped in the road with Temari and Kankuro before turning around to see Kakashi crouching down on a nearby roof, looking down at him. The silver-white haired Jounin offered them a smile before he hopped down from the roof. He looked slightly disappointed that Gaara tried to leave without saying anything. But he was glad he caught him in time. "Jiraiya told me last night what you planned to do. Are you sure it's the right course of action?" He asked, in a low voice.

The red haired Sand manipulator just looked right at his Jounin teacher before looking away. "I will be fine, Kakashi. But I need training. If I'm going to free my home village from the Akatsuki and protect Naruto, I must train and become stronger." He told him quietly.

Kakashi took a deep breath but nodded as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. It was obvious that he was smiling at the young Chuunin from under his mask. "You will be become stronger, Gaara. You have so much potentional inside of you. Not Shukaku. But your own heart is strong enough to take the trials that you alone must face." He reached over and placed his hand onto the red head's shoulder. "You and Naruto are going to be powerful ninja. And possibly, together, you two might even be able to defeat Akatsuki. You will surpass both me and Jiraiya. And maybe even the Fourth Hokage. I wish you good luck and farewell. We will meet again when you return." He told him.

Gaara's face softened as he looked up his Jounin teacher. He was very grateful for his words. "Thank you, Kakashi. In a way, if not for your instruction, I would not be this strong." He then turned away as soon as the silver-white haired Shinobi dropped his hand. His eyes were set in determination. He was ready to take the ultimate trial. "And I will not let you or Jiraiya down." He finished.

"Hmm." Kakashi said smiling under his mask before turning away. "Good. So long, Gaara. See you in three years." He told him.

Gaara only nodded as he merely glanced over his shoulder before he turned forward again and walked right out the gates. He, however, paused again when he sensed another presence waiting for him and his siblings. He frowned at another intrusion but then his lips curved upward as he turned right around and looked at Shikamaru leaning against the gates, with his arms folded over his chest.

Both Temari and Kankuro looked surprised that he was there but then the blonde smirked and nodded to the lazy genius as he merely glanced at them. "So, you came to see us off too, eh?"

Snorting, Shikamaru pushed himself off the gates and walked towards them while stuffing his hands into his pockets. He just nodded once. "Yeah. Thought I would. After all, I still kinda owe you for saving my ass from that Whatever her name was." He then turned his dark eyes onto Gaara. "You're not a bad guy at all, Gaara. You better come back. I want to have a go with you in a sparring match sometime. You might just be a challenge for me." He said smirking. Gaara smirked right back as he crossed his arms over his chest. He only nodded once to let him know that he was looking forward to it. Kankuro just grinned at him. "Hmph." Shikamaru snorted out loud before tilting his head to the side. "See you. Be careful going home." He told him.

"Yeah." Kankuro only nodded once as all three of the Sand Siblings turned away from the dark haired genius.

Gaara only merely glanced at Shikamaru from over his shoulder before looking ahead again. He was looking forward to this trip. This would be the first time since he was a baby to returning to his home Country. He wondered exactly what it was like. Sunagakure. He wondered if it was all sand. He knew whatever was in store for him in the Land of Wind, it was going to be quite an adventure for him. But this time, he'd be with the only family he had left. He heard Temari turn back to say something to Shikamaru but he didn't pay any attention to her. His teal colored eyes only glanced up to the blue sky, the corners of his mouth curved as he looked at the clouds. 'Naruto, Sakura, take care of yourself. I'll be back. I promise.' He thought before his eyes were forward again. It was time to go home.

The journey to the Land of Wind took nearly five days just by walking down the main road to the borderline. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro took their time on getting there. They were in no real hurry to get there. Besides, Gaara was still trying to cope with the idea that he would be leaving the Country of Fire for so long. He was still trying to adjust to the idea that he was going to his own birth place. It did make him a little giddy but he was trying to prepare himself for what he might find there. They did stop at their mother's grave sight along the way. Gaara had figured it was best to let Temari and Kankuro pay their respects to their fallen mother. He just stood off to the side and watched as his older siblings shed a few tears at the grave for a little while before they collected their selves and were on their way again.

Along the way, the three siblings stopped in a small village and purchased some hooded cloaks. Temari had pointed out that Gaara had lived in the forested areas for so long that he probably wouldn't be ready for the intensity of the desert.

"It will be very hot there, Gaara. And very dry. It's not like Konoha Village at all. There's not going to be very much shade at all there. It'll be better if we bought you a heat resistant, hooded cloak so that you can slowly adjust to the new climate." The oldest sibling told him. So they had.

When they finally crossed the borders right into the Land of Wind, Gaara was only mildly surprised by the sudden change of terrain. Everything was dry and extremely warm as Temari and Kankuro warned him. There were dunes of rolling sand as far as he could see. Miles and miles of hot, rough sand. Due to his connection to the sand, Gaara felt himself connecting with this desert. It felt right to be here. He could feel the entire desert connecting with his very soul. He felt a certain peace settle within him, as if he had just arrived to the one place he belonged to. "So….." He murmured softly, catching Temari and Kankuro's attention. "This is home. This is where I belong." His teal colored eyes narrowed a little as he looked directly to the West, to the direction where he knew that Sunagakure, the Hidden Sand Village lied. "Time to go home."

"Gaara….." Kankuro said quietly. "We shouldn't take you to directly to the village itself. The very minute you set foot in that village, it'll be more than likely the Akatsuki will know you're here."

Gaara merely glanced over at him, but didn't say anything. He just frowned thoughtfully. He knew that his older brother had a point. But then again, Tobi and that strange Akatsuki member knew that he might go to the Land of Wind. He had half expected the Akatsuki to jump him right then and there the minute he set foot onto the hot sand. But nonetheless, they hadn't. He wondered what Tobi's game really was. He had told the young red haired Shinobi that he had wanted him to train to become stronger. For what reason was it again? To actually be a challenge? A quiet fury rolled around inside his heart, making Gaara tighten his jaw. 'So be it. We'll play his little game for now. But when the time comes, he will be sorry he didn't kill me that very moment.' He thought. He felt Shukaku grinning within him.

'Getting a little blood thirsty, aren't ya?' The demon chuckled.

Gaara tilted his head to the side, as if he was looking at the demon, himself but chose to reply to him. He knew it would just egg the demon on. He knew that the deal with Shukaku was not to take control and just to give him the power he needed to protect himself and those he cared for. But it didn't mean that the sand demon couldn't irritate him. So lowering his head until his chin touched his chest, he looked to Temari. "Very well. Where are we to train?" He asked quietly.

Temari breathed softly with relief. She had been hoping that that would be Gaara's reply. "We're going to take you to the Oasis, where you'll have to wait till Kankuro and I go get Baki. It'll take a day for us to get there and then another day to get to the village. But during that time, I think you'll be okay by yourself. Just until we convince Baki to leave the village and come to you. Other than that, all you have to do is train a little." She told him.

Gaara took in the information before nodding. That was the best plan so far. So he just looked off towards the hot horizon, looking forward to his training while being here. This was the first step he was to take to liberating his home village. "Then let's go."


	32. Chapter Thirty Two

The Hidden Village in the Sand was unusually quiet in the mornings, though it was always quiet. None of the people of the Village wanted to make too much noise and annoy the so called 'Kazekage'. The 'Kazekage' was a very impatient person and very easy to irritate, and he had a temper that could pack not only a punch but certain death. There had been several incidents where someone had annoyed the Akatsuki member, Sasori of the Red Sand, and in truth, those who did irritate him didn't live through the punishments he administered. The people of Sunagakure Village in deed lived in a state of misery.

The Sand ninja, Baki did his best, though. He taught many of the young ninja the ways of the Sand in the best way he could, trying very hard to please Sasori and keep his young students from turning into mindless killers for the Akatsuki. But even that was very difficult. Especially with followers of the Akatsuki always breathing down his neck and constantly watching over his training sessions with his Genin or the younger ones.

He was a very strict person when it came to the Ninja training but he did care deeply for his students. He didn't always show his true feelings when it came to the young Ninja. But he did his best with them. He gave them the right advice when they asked for it, helped them with things they didn't understand, which dealt a lot about the Akatsuki. It sometimes broke his heart to see the looks on the kids' faces when he tried to explain why they were in such rough situations with the Criminal ninja running the show. The children just couldn't understand why they were practically slaves to the Akatsuki.

Baki was in his late thirties, if not in the middle. He was a tall and bulky sort of ninja, always strong and proud. He was one of the most respected Sand Ninja, even in the Akatsuki standards. If he was not so useful to them, he probably would have been dead a long time ago. He had taught many of the young ninja for years and had lost many of them when they didn't impress some of the Akatsuki followers. But out of all of his students, there were only two that he cared deeply for. That had been Temari and Kankuro. He had taken the two under his wing several years before, not only five years after the death of the Fourth Kazekage. It was actually he who was keeping them from being locked up in prison. He and the Fourth Kazekage's brother in law, Yashimaru. The two had sworn their loyalty to Sasori just to stay alive, but it didn't mean that they were truly loyal to him. They only served him to protect the future of the Sand Village. The children.

There were times, though, that Baki despised Yashamaru, no matter how gentle and kind he was. It was the times he spoke ill of the late, youngest son of the former Kazekage. There were so many times that Yashamaru annoyed Baki continuing on saying that he should have killed the little sand monster himself for the death of his younger sister. It was really starting to get old.

However, Baki remembered the day when Temari and Kankuro had been chosen for the mission to help invade the Hidden Leaf Village through the Chuunin exams. He had had his worries then too. He had wanted to go with them as their sensei, wanting to keep an eye out on them and make sure that they stayed out of trouble. But Sasori wouldn't hear anything of it. He simply said that he wanted Deidara and Yashamaru to be in charge of them. There had been a minor argument about this one, though it didn't last too long because Baki knew what would happen if he kept arguing with Sasori of the Red Sand.

And to make sure that there would be no foul play at all, the 'Kazekage' had assigned one of the Akatsuki underlings on their team. Now, Baki didn't mind Tobi that much, but he did not trust him. The young ninja, or somewhat young ninja, acted like a clumsy idiot, always walking into things or tripping over his own feet. He was positively the worst ninja he'd ever seen.

But then again, he was an agent of Akatsuki and the Akatsuki used only the best of the best.

However, that was not the only reason that had Baki uneasy about Tobi. He had seen the boy in action before. The clumsiness, the prone accidents, and the completely idiocy was only a mask that Tobi wore much like the one he DID wear. Baki remembered he had seen Tobi's dark side before. He had seen the boy completely lose all cheerfulness and idiocy before and had become a rather vicious. It hadn't been too long before either. Right before the Chuunin exams, actually.

Tobi was very dangerous.

It was only recently that Baki heard the reports come back from the Exams. He had heard that the mission to invade Konoha Village had failed. Things happened way too fast that Baki didn't know what happened. All he knew was that Yashamaru had totally blew the mission. He had been killed after attacking and attempting to kill a Leaf Ninja. It was because of him that the mission failed. With him attacking the Leaf Ninja, the Hidden Leaf Village discovered the secret alliance with the Sound Village and they, of course, fought back.

True, the Hokage had been killed by Orochimaru, while being severely injured himself, but Baki really hadn't cared about the pale-faced snake freak. His only concern was for Temari and Kankuro.

When the remaining Sand Ninja returned, Baki had gone to greet his two students, but had been horrified to hear that they weren't with them. He immediately demanded to find out what happened to them. But no one really seemed to know where they were or what happened. He kept asking about them, always keeping an eye out for them. But to his complete horror, one ninja finally managed to tell him that Temari and Kankuro were still in the Leaf Village, maybe as prisoners of war. It was more than likely that they had been executed because of their involvement of the mission. The news broke Baki's heart.

For several weeks, Baki had mourned for his two students. He truly believed that they were dead. There was no way that the Leaf Village could forgive the two siblings for being involved for killing the Hokage. That was a high crime and it did mean death. And for weeks, Baki did all he could to try and get over the 'deaths' of Kankuro and Temari. But he just couldn't get them out of his mind. Something just didn't add up. There just something that wasn't right.

Almost a month since the Chuunin exams, it was then he really found out what happened to Temari and Kankuro.

The two Akatsuki members, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigake brought news to Sasori, and Baki had over heard it, that the young siblings of the Fourth Kazekage had turned their backs against the Sand Ninja and became allies with the Leaf Ninja. Sasori had been furious about that. He immediately stated that the next time that Temari and Kankuro were seen, he wanted them dead. Baki still couldn't believe that Temari and Kankuro would turn their backs on the Sand Ninja. They wouldn't do that. They wouldn't leave him or Sunagakure's people in such cruel hands.

Eventually, Baki found out the truth.

It was around sunset when things changed so much for Baki. He had been on his way from the Suna Academy, just right after his lessons with some of the young ninja students. He was in such a crabby mood after them. His lessons really didn't go as well as he had wanted them to. For the gods above, he was a Jounin! He was suppose to be teaching Genin, or leading missions with Chuunin! Not babysitting a bunch of brats who hadn't even left the ninja academy yet! But it had Deidara who decided to pick on him. The Clay-bomber had been in a bad mood and he decided to take it out on Baki. The Sand Jounin swore that one day he was going to plant his foot in the Akatsuki member's face.

"Excuse me, Shinobi." Came a seductively sweet voice.

Baki halted in his tracks on his way home that night and looked to see who was addressing him. His dark eyes landed on a very gorgeous woman leaning against the wall, garbed in a loose kimono. Her sleeves were falling off her shoulders, showing a little more skin than Baki was comfortable with. Her gorgeous brown hair fell into curls around her waist while her big, brown eyes batted in his direction.

"Excuse me, you big, strong and handsome Shinobi. I'm a very sad and lonely girl whose looking for a little company. Would you mind if I accompany you?" The beautiful woman asked, now moving closer to him.

Baki gave the woman a very dry look before turning away. He was going to completely ignore her. He wasn't in the mood for meddlesome women right now, no matter how beautiful and seductive looking they were. However, he felt her grab a hold of his arm and so he turned a glare onto her. "Let go of me, woman. Go bother someone else." He growled at her.

The woman just giggled as she batted her eyes at him, tugging at his arm to follow her to the alley. "Oh, come on, Sensei. You might just find this a little more entertaining." She told him, tilting her head innocently to the side.

Something caught Baki's attention, though. He blinked at the title she just called him, making him just stare at her. He frowned for a very long time, before his mouth slowly curved upward into a smile. He figured it wouldn't hurt to go with this woman after all. So he just nodded, letting her hold onto his arm. "Very well, lady. Why don't you just take me somewhere." He told her simply. The woman just smiled sweetly at him before pulling him towards the alley.

They walked for a very long time, going through alleys and crossing roads. Neither one spoke as they walked with one another, hand in hand. The woman just kept nuzzling his arm, while he, on the other hand, completely ignored her, staring blankly forward. He didn't know where the woman was taking him but he was very sure that it would be worth his while. It was then in a very secluded area, hidden from any kind of view and plenty of privacy did the woman finally stopped and faced Baki. She smiled seductively up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was as if she wanted to do something very inappropriate with him. She even started to pucker up and move her head towards his.

But the strict Sand Ninja made a face before roughly shoving her away and glaring at her. "Quit playing around," he growled before smirking at the woman. "Kankuro. Put Crow away and come out."

"His name is actually Black Ant." Came a familiar, but amused voice as the woman's face began to crack and vanish. In her place there was a large puppet dressed in long, dark brown robe and stepping out of the shadows was a black clad ninja; Kankuro. He was wearing a large brown, hooded cloak to hide his identity. His fingers were glowing blue with his Chakra strings. "Hey, Sensei. Long time, no see."

Baki only smiled as he looked at his long, lost student, feeling extremely relieved that he was safe and sound. And he truly was. He was so glad to see him again. "Kankuro, I should beat you of every inch of your life. I have been so worried about you and….." His eyes flashed before he quickly looked around the alley then back at Kankuro with worry. "Temari?" He asked, sounding very worried. Kankuro just smiled before he flicked a finger, controlling the puppet, Black Ant to raise an arm and point to behind him. Baki stiffened before whirling around to see what the puppet was pointing at, only to freeze to see a shadow coming out.

To his surprise and delight, it was Temari. She too was wearing a large brown cloak with the hood up. Her large fan was strapped to her back. She was smiling softly at Baki. "Hi, Baki-sensei. We're back."

And after a second, the siblings soon found their selves swept into a tight embrace by their old Jounin teacher.

The happy reunion didn't last too long though. Baki was too happy to see the two, though they were anxious about getting out of the public. They let him have his little happy moment before they grew very serious. The Sand Ninja began asking questions about what happened in Konoha and with the mission and how they escaped the Leaf Village. After that question, Temari and Kankuro glanced at one another with serious expressions before looking back at him. "We didn't escape, Baki. We were never their prisoners." The blonde haired Kunoichi told him.

Baki frowned in surprise before his eyes widened. "You….then what Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki said was true. You've turned traitor?" He asked, almost painfully.

"No!" Kankuro said, looking horrified that his old Jounin master would even think that. "We would never turn our backs on this village, Baki, and you know that!"

Temari sighed, now rubbing the bridge of her nose. She knew this wasn't getting them anywhere. But she knew they had to explain the situation to him. "Baki," She said quietly. "We can't say anything. Not yet. It's too dangerous right now and who knows if that god forsaken Zetsu isn't slinking around right now." She looked very serious as she looked him into the eyes. "Please trust in saying this, but we need you to come with us. We have to leave Sunagakure. Immediately."

Baki frowned, noting how serious she was being. He always knew her as the serious type but she was being beyond serious. This was way too unusual for even her. "What? What is it, Temari?" He asked frowning.

Again, Temari and Kankuro looked at one another then back at their old sensei. They knew they couldn't say anything right now. Not about why they were back in the Sand Village. "Baki, please. Just trust us. We need to leave the Hidden Sand Village. Come with us. We have something to show you." The blonde said, almost pleading.

"There's someone you need to meet." Kankuro added as he began putting Black Ant away. "This someone needs your help. We need you to train him."

Baki could only look between the two, frowning. He didn't like the way they were talking but he knew that they must have done something that could land them in a lot of trouble with the Akatsuki. Why else would they be sneaking around in the village that had been their birthplace and home all their lives? "What have you two done?" He asked seriously, arms now folded over his chest.

There was nothing more to say; but Gaara was extremely bored. He wasn't in the best of moods either. After arriving in the desert of the Wind Country, Gaara hadn't realized exactly how hard it would be to survive in this place. He knew that he was strong enough to handle it but even it was rough for him. The desert was way too hot and too dry. More than he was used to. It took a lot of effort not to turn back and just go back to the forests of the Fire Country. He had to depend on Temari and Kankuro to not end up face down in the sand, dying of dehydration. They hadn't been kidding when they told him it was going to be hot. But he knew that eventually, he would adjust. Shukaku was enjoying himself, at the least. He was incredibly happy that they were surrounded by hot sand.

After almost a week of traveling across the desert, Gaara and his siblings had finally arrived at the Oasis, a nice little watering hole surrounded by a few green and brown vegetation. It wasn't a bad little place at all.

And it was near a high cliff, where Gaara could see plants growing off of ledges. His eyes had caught sight of several patches of dusty pink flowers on the very high cliffs. He wondered what they were. He really hadn't had the chance to ask Temari and Kankuro about them before they took off to the Sand Village. They told him it would be best if they found their sensei, Baki, immediately. They only told him to stay by the water, eat when he needed to and drink lots of water while they were gone. They didn't even tell him how long they were going to be.

So for almost an entire day, he sat in the shade of the cliff, glaring off into the horizon, bored out of his fricken skull. He wanted to train a little but he wasn't too sure if it would attract attention or not. The techniques he worked with Shukuku on he knew would. Some of the new techniques he knew were dangerous though. And it would attract unwanted attention.

'They're coming." Shukaku growled

Gaara's head snapped up and he looked off to see two figures now racing towards him. He knew it was Temari and Kankuro. It could only be them. But, they appeared to be alone. So where was the Jounin, Baki? Frowning, Gaara stood up to greet his siblings, who both looked very sour as they approached him. They were obviously not in a good mood at all. And obviously, Baki had not decided to come. His face growing a little grave, he dipped his head down and watched as his brother and sister hurry up to him. "Baki?" he asked quietly as soon as they bent over to catch their breath. "Has something happened to him?"

Temari shook her head as she gasped for her breath before standing up straight and frowning. "We found him all right. He's fine. It's just he didn't want to come. He said that he wouldn't be doing the Sand Village any good if he left it in the hands of the Akatsuki." She told him.

"We told him that we were hear to make sure that the Akatsuki surrendered the village to us but he was too uneasy about it." Kankuro added. "I know for a fact that he wouldn't come because we wouldn't tell him that it was you that we wanted him to train. He's always been suspicious and careful. But this is Temari and me that we're talking about. He should know that he can trust us."

Gaara frowned seriously before looking towards the sand dunes not too far away from them. He didn't like the sound of this at all. This was going to present a problem. "Really? Is that what he said?" He asked quietly, getting a confused frown from both of his siblings. He only confused them even more when he smirked towards a certain dune before narrowing his eyes at it.

Suddenly there was a cry of surprise as the sand began to shift and raise into the air. Both Temari and Kankuro whirled around, looking shocked but they both were even more surprised when they saw a large patch of sand lifting up something in the air and bringing the person closer. To their shock, it was Baki. The Jounin was hanging upside down from the sand, looking just as bewildered as they did as he was brought closer to the three young ninja. But he didn't really have time to look at them from his upside down perspective before the sand released him. He twisted his body around quickly so that he could land on his feet, yet even the sand shifted under him, bringing him to his knees and then quickly trapping him in an iron grip so that he couldn't stand up. His dark eyes snapped up to the three standing before him, stopping on Gaara. He couldn't help but look a little alert and suspicious, knowing that it must have been the red head who was subduing him.

"Baki-sensei!" Both Temari and Kankuro yelped in surprise. "You're here!"

Gaara merely glanced at them before looking back at Baki. His sea-foam colored eyes looked the Jounin over, somewhat dissatisfied with him. He wasn't entirely impressed with this Jounin at all. He had expected something a little more…challenging. Much like Kakashi. But then again, this Jounin had hidden himself pretty well from Temari and Kankuro. He was sure that even if they had been paying attention to who might have been following them, they wouldn't have found him anyway. "So, you're Baki." He said quietly, folding his arms over his chest.

Baki frowned at the red haired youth before him then looked at Temari and Kankuro. He was well aware that they were surprised to see him, even after he told them he wasn't going to come. "Surprised?"

"Baki! You said you weren't going to come if we didn't tell you who we wanted you to train!" Kankuro said, greatly annoyed that he had been lied to. He couldn't believe that this man would even think about lying to him and Temari. He had been practically their father since their own had been killed by Sasori of the Red Sand.

Baki just glanced back at Gaara, looking him over as if sizing him before trying to force himself to his feet. He was somewhat alarmed that the sand under him and covering his legs weren't letting him. "I lied, Kankuro. I wanted to see your friend first. And will you please tell him to let me up? I would like to stand, if you don't mind." He remarked dryly. Gaara narrowed his eyes at the Sand Jounin before he released him, letting him stand up. The Jounin stood, brushing sand off his pants before looking at him again. "Your friend is pretty good, I'll admit. I'm the stealthiest ninja in the Sand village and you still found me. I'm just a step up from Kankuro and even he can fool most of the Jounin there."

"When it comes to hiding in the sand," Gaara said quietly and carefully. "You cannot hide from me."

Baki frowned at him but then looked at his two students with confusion. He was practically asking them who this was with his eyes. Sighing, Temari reached over and placed a hand onto Gaara's shoulder. "Baki-sensei, I know this is going to be very hard to understand and even believe. Especially after all of these years." She paused glancing at her red haired brother. "This is Gaara. He's mine and Kankuro's younger brother." She finished.

There was a long pause as the words settled into Baki's mind and when they did, he looked very alarmed. He stepped back staring at Gaara as if he was looking at a ghost. It was like someone was playing a cruel joke on him. "What?! You're brother….?!" His eyes widened even more as he looked quickly to Temari and Kankuro. "The Shukaku carrier?!"

Gaara's eyes flashed angrily. He was getting really tired of being called that by now. But his siblings stayed calm as they clapped their hands onto his shoulders, as if holding him back. Kankuro shook his head as he looked seriously at his sensei. "Don't call him that, Baki. His name is Gaara. And he's my younger brother. Temari's too. He's not like Shukaku." He said seriously.

Temari nodded in agreement. "Gaara is a good person when you get to know him, sensei. He's already threatened the sand demon several times that he'll kill himself if the demon tries to hurt anyone. He has enough control over Shukaku." She added.

"I was aware that the youngest child of the Fourth Kazekage was dead." Baki said frowning before he shook his head and went over to sit by the oasis. He even motioned to the three young ninja to join him. "I think you best explain everything. That way I can understand what I am up against. I'm completely confused about how the….." He paused glancing at Gaara, noting how sour he was looking about being called 'The Shukaku Carrier' again. "….about how Gaara is still alive..." He finished.

So, together, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro sat down with Baki and told him the entire story.

Temari started the story with how she remembered it. She explained to Baki how their mother stole her children away into the desert and ran for the borders of Wind and Fire. She told her sensei that after they had a run in with Itachi and Kisame, the Lady Kazekage made her take Gaara and run for it while she tried to save Kankuro from the Akatsuki members. She had given her own life to make sure that Temari had gotten away with the young child. Then Temari told him about how she came up with a plan to place Gaara on the river and send him down stream so that he could get away safely as she lead Itachi and Kisame after her upstream. After that piece, Gaara silently explained how he had come across the Hidden Leaf Village and became one of them under the watchful eyes of the Legendary Jiraiya and even the Hokage himself. He told Baki that he had grown up with no friends and how he had been treated until he met Naruto Uzumaki, the carrier of the Nine-Tailed Fox. He told the Jounin that Naruto had become his best and only friend until they were placed onto Team Seven with the famous Kakashi Hatake as his Jounin instructor.

During the tale, Baki was in awe by everything. He was taken by surprise when he listened to Gaara explain about the fight with the infamous Mist Demon, Zabuza Momochi and his apprentice, Haku. He remembered meeting that man once. It had not been a pleasant occasion either. But he grew very serious after hearing about the Chuunin exams. He never interrupted as Gaara explained of how he finally lost control over Shukaku and what he had down to the Leaf Ninja, Rock Lee. Baki knew instantly that Gaara was disgusted with himself for what he nearly did to the other boy. He could see the guilt in his eyes as he spoke quietly.

And eventually, the explanation of why Yashamaru was dead came.

Baki never interrupted as he listened about why his former team mate had tried to kill his own nephew's life under the orders of the Kazekage, Gaara's own father.

By the time the tale was over, it was late in the evening and they had built a fire by the oasis and had eaten some of the food that was packed in the bags. Temari and Kankuro had fallen asleep, exhausted from the journey to finding him. So it was just Baki and Gaara who was awake now. The two sat in silence around the fire, staring into the flickering flames. Neither one spoke as they just stared for a very long time.

But finally, Baki looked at the red haired boy sitting from across of him, his hands folded together. "I grew up with Yashamaru. And your mother. We were in the same classes together. We weren't friends but we got along just fine." His dark eyes flickered to the boy's sea-foam colored ones, which looked away, somewhat forlorn. "I don't blame you for killing Yashmaru. It was right to defend yourself, even if you are…..well, you get the idea. And it's true that your father, the Kazekage ordered your execution." He shook his head as Gaara's face darkened but there was some grief in his eyes. "Your father was a good man, Gaara. But he was like every human being is. Greedy for power. You were meant to be a weapon for the Sand Village since it was discovered that you possessed the spirit of Shukaku. I, myself, didn't care either way. To me, you were a weapon for only war." He held up a hand when Gaara gave him a very cold stare. "But, hearing your story has made me realize what kind of fool I truly am. No matter if you do carry Shukaku, you are still only human. Therefore, I will ask for your forgiveness for my grave mistake." He requested.

Gaara stared at Baki for a moment before his face softened. He could see Jiraiya's kind eyes in this man. He could tell that this man may have been very strict and serious to a fault but he did have kindness inside of him. So he nodded. "You are forgiven." He murmured quietly. "But I must ask you, will you train me the ways of the Sand Ninja? I planned on coming here to free the Sand Village from the Akatsuki. And that is still what I am planning to do. But I need to know about what I am up against. I need to know the desert if I am going to use it to save my parents' people. If I am going to save this village and protect them, I need to be strong and I need training. So will you train me of the ways of the Sand?"

There was a long pause as Baki stared into his eyes before he nodded once and clapped his hands as if freeing them from sand. "As far as I can see it, you are strong. You have a powerful weapon, the control of sand. If you're going to use your power, you're in the right place for it. But still, you might just need to work on it. So I think I will train you." He told him.

"Thank you then." Gaara murmured quietly.

Baki smirked to the red head. "Don't thank me just yet, Gaara. Mind you, the training I am going to put you through is going to be extremely hard. If you really want to be strong enough to stand up against the Akatsuki, we will make you strong. But I can guarantee you that this training is going to be hell on your part. Do not expect me to go easy on you at all just because you are young. You must do what I tell you when I tell you and without any complaint at all. Do we have an understanding?" He asked sternly.

Gaara nodded only once, now looking more satisfied with the Jounin than he had before. "I don't want my training to be easy. I want a challenge." He said with dry humor. Baki could only smile right back at the boy, definitely amused. He was starting to like this kid.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait on the update. I lost the flash drives which the story is written on so I had to start over this chapter again.


	33. Chapter Thirty Three

Gaara's training began bright and early the very next day after meeting Baki. It had even been right before sunrise. It suited the red head just fine either way because he didn't sleep at all throughout the night as it was. He also learned that Baki was an early riser, even if he didn't get too much sleep in the night. He seemed to have his own biological clock that went off at four thirty in the morning; for that was what time he woke up at, after only getting five hours of sleep as it was.

To Temari and Kankuro's displeasure, Baki woke them up too and told them that he wasn't just going to train Gaara. He was going to put them through the same training. He told them, with a sadistic smile on his face, that he had missed torturing them with his training methods. So therefore, he needed to catch up on that. They were not happy at all.

Starting the day, they ate breakfast, of course. But then after that, Baki immediately got them started on doing stretches. It was pretty much the basics for Gaara, something that Kakashi always did with Team Seven. So he was pretty much aware of what they were going to do. It was just warm up stretches before Baki made them run around the oasis, which in fact was a good decent size. They ran nearly a hundred laps before getting started with the real training. Baki had turned to the three siblings, smirking a very mischievous smile.

"We shall start this day with sparring. Let's see exactly where you're at, Gaara." The Jounin said before launching at him.

Now, Gaara knew that Baki must have been a pretty decent fighter and he was pretty sure that he could keep up with the Sand Jounin. But he was sure in for a surprise. He instantly discovered that Baki was a lot more than he looked. He was very fast on his feet and very swift with his hands. The Jounin was no doubt a Taijutsu specialist. He mostly fought all three young ninja with Taijutsu. He hardly used any Ninjutsu and didn't seem to like Genjutsu too much, though he finally showed Gaara that he was really good with it. Baki actually found the Illusionary arts a little un-necessary in his part. He proved to be immune when Gaara tried to create an illusion around them. Temari eventually filled her youngest brother in that Illusions really didn't work on Baki. Which was probably why that out of most of the entire Sand Village, Baki was the one Sand Ninja that Itachi Uchiha really did not like. Even he had a little trouble placing the Sand Ninja under an illusion.

Gaara was very amused by that news.

However, as the training went, that was pretty much what Baki did. He would wake the three siblings up, actually not really waking Gaara up at all, and get them started on sparring. But after that, he started them on physical training. He simply told Gaara that even though he was very strong in mind, he lacked physical strength.

Therefore, he began making Gaara climb the cliff side. Baki explained to Gaara that he needed physical strength as well as mental strength. He told the young Sand Ninja that climbing the cliffs with his sand gourd strapped to his back would help build his muscles. And to make things just a little harder, Gaara was not to use his sand at all. It was much like Anko's training, the red head realized.

Therefore, again, Gaara agreed.

The cliff climbing training proved to be very hard though. Gaara never realized how hard it was going to be until he actually tried it. His sand gourd wasn't really too heavy in his opinion but climbing a cliff with it strapped to his back, he didn't agree anymore. He would end up sweating very hard by the first thirty minutes of cliff climbing. There had been numerous times that he slipped and almost fell off the cliff, which he had his sand manipulation skills to thank for when the sand caught him from hitting the ground. But every time that he ended up using his sand to save his sorry butt, Baki would sigh and tell him to start all over again. Temari and Kankuro even started climbing the cliffs with him though. They figured that since Gaara was working so hard in his training, they might as well as work as hard as he did. Both even carried their own burdens on their backs. Temari used her large fan to carry up the cliff, which was heavy enough. And Kankuro used both Crow and Black Ant has his burdens. Truthfully, the two puppets were heavy enough. So, out of the three siblings, Kankuro was the more physically fit, much to Gaara's displeasure. But still, they did it together. However, out of all three, Temari was the fastest climber. She would always be way ahead of Gaara and Kankuro. The puppeteer eventually made the mistake of calling her a monkey because she was so fast and she nearly brained him with her fan smashing against his skull. Still, out of the entire team, Baki was the fastest climber. He had eventually started joining his students for cliff climbing and would always reach the top of the cliffs before the three was even half way to the top.

What even more, Gaara even worked on some of his new sand techniques though he could only do them during sand storms, which happened quite a lot near the rocky mountains. Baki explained to him that if he did his sand techniques during the sand storms, no one would actually notice. Not during the storms, if anyone saw Gaara using his sand techniques, they would get suspicious of sand flying in the air like they did. So during the storms, he trained with his sand manipulation.

During the storms, sometimes Gaara would just stand out of the shelter that they had been using and just let the sand pelt sharply against him. Usually the storms caused the sand to become like kunai but for Gaara, it was like rain just falling on his head. It didn't hurt him at all. He would just stand in the sand storms, shirtless and let the rough sand brush against his pale skin, which strangely had not tanned like Temari's or Kankuro's. It was during these times that his mind floated back to the Leaf Village. He couldn't help but think about everyone there. He was just a little worried about the other ninja rookies. Especially about Sakura. He hoped that she was doing okay. He knew she must have been very upset with him for leaving without saying anything, or more than less furious that he hadn't succeeded in bringing Sasuke back to her. He wondered what would happen when the next time he saw her. He was also a little worried about Naruto. He wondered how he was doing in his own training? Was he fairing any better than himself? He surely hoped so. Gaara soon found himself thinking about Naruto and Sakura a lot while he was training with Baki and his brother and sister. Mostly Sakura. And while thinking of her, he began to realize how lonely he truly felt. He knew that he was really starting to miss her, and Naruto.

As the month slowly rolled by while he still trained, Gaara found himself a little curious about the Sand Village. He would look off into the horizon, wondering more and more about the village which had been his birthplace. He knew it would be risky, but he really wanted to see it for himself. So one late night, when everyone else fell asleep and he stayed up to watch over the camp, Gaara stood up and began making his way towards the Sand Village. He knew it wouldn't take more than an hour or two to actually reach it and be back before anyone woke up.

'This is really not a good idea.' Shukaku said very quietly.

Gaara looked off to the side as he began shifting his sand gourd into a hooded sand cloak to wear while being at the village. He knew that the demon might have had a point. Going to Suna Village without Baki or any of his siblings was probably a very stupid idea. But the curiosity of what the village looked like had him trapped. He felt the desperate urge to see it. To see what the streets looked like, to see the people. He felt himself not even care that he might just as well get caught by the Akatsuki by his curious wanderings.

"Brat, we should turn back and just wait for the others to wake up. Going to the Sand Village alone is not a smart move at all." The sand demon tried again.

Once again, Gaara ignored Shukaku as he picked up his pace, now and then glancing over his shoulder, thinking if Baki, Temari or Kankuro might have woken up just yet. He really hoped that they wouldn't. It would make things complicated if they woke up and found him missing.

Annoyed, or so Gaara felt the demon's mood, Shukaku growled. "They're fast asleep. I don't think they'll be waking up for several hours now. Today's training was pretty tiring." There was a minor pause before the demon sighed. "If you truly insist on checking out the Sand Village, just keep your head low. I'll keep a watch on the weak humans."

"Hmm." Gaara hummed somewhat amused by the demon. "That's unusually nice of you, Shukaku. I suppose I should thank you." He said quietly. He only got growled at, which just made him smirk to himself. His teal eyes looked forward again as he began to run towards the Sand Village, now that he was a good mile away from the others. He would have to depend on Shukaku to keep an eye on Baki, Temari and Kankuro. He knew he could do it too, since the sand demon had more a connection with the desert than he, himself did.

Gaara found the Hidden Sand Village just fine, with the help of Shukaku. He found the large rocky hills surrounding the village first and eventually slowly and quietly made his way through a crevice. He had to be very careful at this part. He had sensed a few guards at the end of the opening into the valley and eventually had to sneak past them. It was to his luck that they were practically asleep so they never noticed him slipping past them.

And finally, he came into the valley were the Hidden Sand Village resided.

The young red head could not help himself but stand stalk still against the dark rocks and look down at the village with mild awe. The entire village was not as big as Konoha but it was a good size. It was surrounded by the rocky cliffs. The very buildings were made out of stone. It was a sight that Gaara had never seen before. Still, it was amazing. Slowly, Gaara walked to the cliff's edge, looking down at the village with curious, wonder-filled eyes. He couldn't believe he was actually looking at his home village. He knew he would have seen it sooner or later, but still, it took his breath away.

'So….this is Sunagakure.' He thought quietly to himself.

Gaara stood on the cliff for a long moment before stretching out his senses to see if anyone was actually still awake. There were a few people but they didn't even seem to notice his own presence. There were powerful Chakra coming from a building at the heart of the Village, so he knew that must have been where the Akatsuki were residing right now.

Carefully, Gaara began to creep down into the village, wanting a better look at his old home village.

For a little while now, the young red head walked in the dark shadows of the village, looking around at the village surrounding him. There were a few vendor stands still standing out on the street, but the merchandise were packed away. No one was out on the streets. It seemed that it was only him. Gaara took his time to observe some of the shops and eventually looked through a few windows of the buildings. Some of the buildings he looked into were shops, their selves. He was fascinated by seeing a the bakery they had there. There was a man still up, baking the new batch of bread and pastries for the next day to come but he never noticed that there was someone at his window, looking at him. And a few windows that Gaara looked into were the homes of families. He saw a few people sleeping in their beds. A few children shared beds with their siblings, as if they were too afraid to be alone. But as they slept, there was peaceful look on their faces. It was probably at these times that they only had peace. It was night time that they felt safe and sound.

But one particular window that Gaara had to stop and look in at was the window of a man sitting at a fireplace with a little boy kneeling before him. They were obviously father and son, for they looked a like. But what disturbed Gaara was the fact that boy's face was bruised and he had dried blood on his chin. So someone had beaten this poor kid.

The father didn't look particular happy as he took a rag and moped up his son's face. There was a look of sadness in his eyes, as if he felt ashamed of something. He was speaking to the boy in a low voice, which Gaara had to tilt his head to the side to hear better.

"You shouldn't have provoked them, Quoi." The father said softly to the boy, who was sniffling a little. He sighed gently when the boy winced in pain as he applied medicine to his son's cut above his eye. "You know that the Sand Ninja don't like to be bothered. Why did you do it, Quoi? Why?"

The boy sniffled again before reaching up and wiping tears from his eyes. "Da, they were being mean to the old story teller! He was telling stories about the old days and how it used to be peaceful in Sand Village! They told him that he was an old fool for trying to get our hopes up for a bright new future and so I…..I….I didn't like it, papa! I had to shut them up!"

"Quoi," The father sighed before putting the rag down and picking up his son, placing him on his lap. "Hitting the Sand Ninja with a stick doesn't really shut anyone up. You shouldn't have hit that man."

"B-but…..I didn't hit him that hard! I ta-tapped him!" The boy, Quoi whimpered.

The father just sighed for the fifth time but faintly smiled as he drew his son closer. "Quoi, don't you worry. Some day, things will change. Some day, the Akatsuki will leave us and we'll be free." He whispered softly. "But until then, stop provoking the Sand Ninja. You know they won't hesitate to beating you again. If you provoke that one ninja one more time, it'll be more than likely he'll take you to the Kazekage for punishment." His eyes began to shine as if he was about to cry. "And I don't know what I would do if that ever happened. Sasori will kill you and it will break my heart, Quoi. Please, promise me you'll never anything to upset the Sand Ninja again."

The boy lowered his head but leaned against his father's warm chest, clutching onto him. "I promise, papa." He murmured.

Outside the window, Gaara watched the pair with forlorn eyes. He couldn't help but feel for these two. He envied the boy for even having a father that cared about him, but he pitied them too. If they were in such a state like this, if the Sand Ninja of this village really had been responsible for beating that little boy, it was no doubt that they were loyal to Sasori and the Akatsuki. It just made Gaara set his jaw tightly and glare towards the building where he felt the powerful Chakra.

'Some day,' He thought, though he was directing this particular thought towards the man and his son. 'Some day, I will grant your wish. I promise.'

After that, Gaara returned to the desert, somewhat disappointed that there hadn't been an incident. He would have given anything just to make an example to the Akatsuki about how angry that he truly was with them. He swore that he would make them pay for the suffering of these people, of that boy, Quoi.

By the time the others had woken up, Gaara had already began his daily training but there as fire in his eyes as he tried climbing the cliffs. The other three; Baki, Temari and Kankuro knew something must have happened throughout the night to make him so upset. But neither one decided to ask him about it. They really didn't think they wanted to know.

However, sooner or later, Baki did.

It was right after a harsh day's training, when a sudden sand storm picked up, causing them all to have to retreat for the day. Though Gaara didn't want to. He had wanted to keep trying to climb the cliffs, but Baki talked him out of it. The Jounin stated that he needed a break anyway. Eventually, the two sat down next to each other and stared out at the roaring sand. Temari and Kankuro were arguing about something though it didn't interest Gaara at the least.

"Something happened the other night, didn't it?" Baki spoke up so quietly that Gaara knew that Temari and Kankuro wouldn't have heard.

The young red head just kept staring out at the sand filled winds, not looking at Baki at all. He knew that Baki would probably have a fit if he found out that he had snuck away to the Sand Village so late in the evening. So he chose not to answer. "…." Was his only answer to the Jounin.

"…." Baki hummed right back before tilting his head towards Gaara, looking at him through strange eyes. "I know where you went. I'm not stupid." He murmured finally getting the red haired Chuunin to look at him, somewhat taken back. There was no doubt that Gaara was waiting to get scolded now. But Baki just turned his dark eyes away from him, looking at the sandy ground under his feet. "What did you think of the village?"

Gaara stared at him, still somewhat surprised that the Jounin hadn't started his scolding just yet. But then he too looked away, staring at the ground. He was quiet for a long moment before shaking his head. "Baki," He murmured just as quietly. "Tell me something. Are the Sand Ninja loyal to Sasori?"

Baki looked at the young ninja, staring at him for a moment before he shook his head and looked again. "Most of them are just playing the Akatsuki. They're doing what I and Yashamaru used to. Pretending to be loyal to them. But there's a fair few that serve under the Akatsuki, believing that being their lap dogs, they'll get to do whatever they want." He glanced at Gaara again. "Why?" He asked.

"…" Gaara narrowed his eyes, but they were still filled with thought. He was thinking about the beaten child and his father, thinking about their words. "Do you know a young child by the name of Quoi?"

Baki blinked in surprise and looked right at Gaara with astonishment. He stared at him for a very long time before his eyes softened with thought and sadness. He straightened up again and nodded. "Chiquoi. He's a youngster from the Ninja academy but he's considered as an outcast, even among the kids. He's always defying some of the Sand Ninja, stating that serving the Akatsuki is stupid. I'm surprised that Sasori hasn't had him killed yet, but it's probably because he wants to see Quoi's spirit broken first. He's always getting into trouble." He tilted his head towards Gaara again. "He kind of reminds me of your friend, Naruto. He's always looking for trouble for the right reasons, yet always ending up face down in the dirt. He's a good kid, really." He paused. "His father was a ninja at a time but he retired. I think its because he doesn't want to serve under Sasori. That, and because his wife was murdered by Sasori."

Gaara's face only darkened. The more that he heard about Sasori, the more he hated him. He was really starting to despise the man. He was going to make him pay. He was going to make that boy's wish come true, by freeing the Sand Village from the Akatsuki's grip. Even if it killed him.

More time passed as Gaara and his siblings trained with Baki in the desert. They were getting faster while climbing the cliffs. Gaara was definitely starting to build up some muscles in his arms and legs. Even Temari remarked how he was starting to show a few abs on his stomach, which caused him to flush.

And to add onto his embarrassment, Kankuro remarked to Gaara about how he could show off his new abs to Sakura when they returned to the Leaf Village. Of course, he regretted it immediately. Especially when Gaara caused him to eat some sand after throwing him across the Oasis. Baki and Temari roared with laughter while the puppeteer tried desperately to get his head out of the sand, since it was stuck.

Gaara also made a few late night visits to the Sand Village, with only Baki knowing about it of course. He was extraordinary careful while sneaking around the village though. He stuck to the shadows and did everything not attract any attention. Only once or twice he did day visits. That was extremely risky but no one actually noticed him. It was at these times he got to see some of the activities of people. He was fascinated with some of the shop stands on the streets. And even more fascinated when he saw street dances. The people of Suna Village had to find their fun since the Akatsuki and some of the Sand Ninja didn't let them. The street dances were Gaara's favorite to watch. He liked watching the movement of the dancers. It reminded him of how sand moved when in the wind. He wondered what Sakura would look like dancing like some of these girls. He immediately shoved that thought out of his mind when he felt his face burn hot red.

There was only once that Gaara nearly blown his cover while doing his day visits to the Sand Village. And it dealt with the boy, Quoi.

It was a warm breezy day, nearly a whole year of being in the Land of Wind. Gaara had been watching some of the street dancers from an alley, just to avoid any attention when he heard someone shouting. He, of course, turned his head to see where it was coming from, much like anyone else. But his teal eyes caught sight of three large Sand Ninja standing around a small figure, laughing and pushing the figure around. They were obviously finding amusement into being cruel to the young one. Gaara's frown deepened as he tilted his head to get a better look. And to his surprise, it was the young boy. He was looking somewhat fierce, trying to hide the growing tears in his eyes. He had a nasty bruise on the side of his head, which must have only been a day old. He was trying to shove away from the Sand Ninja and leave, so to stay out of trouble. But when he tried to push past one of the Sand Ninja, the man grabbed a hold of his hair and yanked him back before slamming a fist over his head. The boy yelped in pain before tumbling to the ground.

Gaara nearly saw red after that. His vision completely changed all color as his rage flared up like a sand storm. He knew that he shouldn't involve himself, but he couldn't just let these cruel bastards get away from beating on the kid again. He almost stepped closer to carry out a punishment but he felt the sand demon inside of him take control of his legs, stopping him.

"Don't you dare!" Shukaku growled at him.

'Let go of me, demon! I'm going to punish them!' Gaara growled right back within his head.

The demon, however, ignored him as he kept a tight hold over Gaara's will. The young ninja could feel the demon shake his head. "If you go out there, you will expose us, Brat! We're here to train, remember?! Not get caught and killed! What good will you be to the Kyuubi brat and the hottie, Sakura, if you end up getting me ripped out of you?!" He snarled at Gaara.

Breathing heavily, Gaara relaxed his muscles, knowing that he had a point. He couldn't get involved. But, he felt ashamed of himself as he watched the boy get hit again by the Sand Ninja. He had to do something! He couldn't watch this! This was not right! It reminded him of how he had been treated as a kid.

That thought seemed to have done it because Shukaku released his hold. He was obviously looking into Gaara's thought. "Just don't get caught!" He growled at the boy.

Gaara felt the corners of his mouth curve upward as his head dipped down a little. He didn't intend to get caught. Instead, he had a better idea of how to stop these large bullies. His head dipper lower, he summoned up some sand from down the road, making it look like a strong breeze of wind had caught the sand. The sand rolled quickly towards the Sand Ninja, who didn't even notice until the sand hit them. They all yelped in pain as some sand got into their eyes and mouth, making them stagger back. The boy, however, the sand swirled right around him, missing him all together, much to his surprise. But as Gaara had some of the sand slap against the Sand Ninja, the sand also hit a pot sitting on a window ledge, causing it to fall over and land directly onto the one Sand Ninja's head that had started the whole thing. The Sand ninja cried out in pain before hitting the ground, unconscious. A few shards would have hit the boy but Gaara immediately had the sand block them from going near him. The other Sand Ninja immediately ignored the kid and tried to revive their out cold friend, while Gaara simply turned away and started to leave. He knew there would probably be some officials coming to investigate soon. So he would need to be scarce when they arrived.

However, he suddenly felt eyes on his back, making him grow tense and slowly turn to see where the feeling was coming from. It took a moment to locate the person staring at him but he was surprised to see that three people were looking at him. The boy, Quoi and a pair of elderly folks.

An ancient pair, at that.

They looked about the same age and looked almost exactly alike, so they could have been siblings. But it was the look on their faces that caught Gaara's attention. They looked almost stunned to see him, and had a look of recognition in their eyes. It was as if they knew who he was. The old woman next to her brother, them being obvious siblings, murmured a word and that word Gaara's face darkened at. It had been, "Shukaku."

With a dark look on his face, Gaara left the Sand Village, deciding not to visit anymore since he had been seen. He didn't even tell Baki or his brother and sister about the incident. He did eventually ask Baki about the elderly couple, claiming that he had caught sight of them, which was only somewhat true.

Baki, however, looked very grave at the questioning of the pair's identities. He didn't look too happy that Gaara had seen them. "Those two were the Twin Elders, Chiyo and Ebizo. They are a wacky pair, but onry. Chiyo is anyway. She's actually Sasori's grandmother." He noted the very tense look in Gaara's eyes as soon as he said that. "Don't worry. She's a little onry with Sasori right now. She thinks he's being stupid by treating the Sand Village like he is right now. Why? Did she see you?"

"…no. She didn't see me." Gaara lied, but it didn't help his nerves. He knew that he couldn't go back to the Sand Village for a while.

Eventually a few weeks passed and Gaara hadn't seen any sign of the Akatsuki. So it was a chance that the two old pair didn't tell anyone that they saw him, which was a relief. But it still didn't help his nerves. He was in a foul mood for a little mood after that but soon got over it.

His training drew on, yet at one point Temari left them for a while. She had decided to go back to the Leaf Village to report to Tsunade, since Gaara really hadn't been keeping his word in keeping in contact with her. She was also going back to join in the new Chuunin exam. She actually dragged Kankuro with her though, deciding that Baki and Gaara should train together alone for a while. When they came back nearly a month later, they came back with grins on their faces, stating that they had passed the Chuunin exam, with everyone else. Temari, however, had came back as Jounin, stating that she had also taken the Jounin test which happens right after the Chuunin Exams.

"You should have been there, Gaara! It was so fun!" Kankuro said laughing as they sat together. Then he grinned and nudged the young red head's arm. "And you should see your girlfriend. Sakura's getting hot!"

He ended up face first in the sand, while Gaara looked highly annoyed. Temari and Baki just laughed and shook their heads.

Another year rolled by, and Gaara was getting better at climbing the cliffs. He didn't even need his sand anymore to catch him if he fell, which he hardly did anymore. However, something did catch his attention while climbing the cliffs. He saw the cliff hanging flowers again and the question he had planned on asking Temari and Kankuro came back to him after so long.

"Temari," He said quietly, one sunset filled evening.

Temari looked over at him as she was cooking that night, much to Kankuro's disgust. He never liked her cooking, even though it wasn't that bad. She ignored his complaints though. "Yeah?" She asked, curiously.

Gaara tilted his head upward and looked up at the cliffs behind them, looking to where he knew where the flowers were growing. He stared at the spot for a moment before nodding at the dusty pink flowers. "What are those flowers called? Why do they grow on the Cliffside?" He simply asked.

Blinking in surprise, all three Temari, Kankuro and Baki looked up at the cliffs at where the flowers were growing. They looked almost surprised to see them but then the Jounin smiled and looked at the young red head. "Ah. I see you've caught interest of the desert roses." He shook his head. "Those are the Land of Wind's desert flowers. They grow only on this mountain and are really difficult to get to. They have a few various names, though they are just they're called Adenium. Those ones are usually called the Cliffhangers or Wind blossoms. There's a legend saying that Shukaku, himself brought those flowers from a jungle inhabitance and planted them on the cliff. They seem to enjoy the windy breeze a lot. They don't even get ripped to shreds during sand storms, which comes as a surprise. They seem to hold out pretty well."

Temari nodded with a smile as she looked at Gaara and dished out the dinner for everyone. "The desert roses are really good for medicines too. They can be used for certain poisons and they make great decors for houses. They don't die as fast as normal flowers do. They can last for nearly two months or three before finally shriveling up and dying." She then smirked at her younger brother. "But you know something, Gaara. I know what you could do with one of the flowers."

Gaara gave her a suspicious look but tilted his head curiously. "What?" He asked, dryly.

Temari smiled sweetly at him, not even a bit offended that he was giving her a dry stare. She just shrugged innocently before turning away. "You can give one to Sakura Haruno. I think one of them would look so good in her pretty pink hair." She said before looking over her shoulder, giving him a wink. "Don't you?"

Again, Gaara's face flushed as he looked away. But deep inside, he agreed with her as he looked up at the flowers. The dusty pink flower would look good in Sakura's hair. It made his face feel a little warm just thinking about seeing her wearing one of the desert roses behind her ear. Just maybe, he might just take up Temari's suggestion. His eyes very soft, he looked towards the sunset, watching as the colors dance across the sky and start to fade. The pink in the sky just made him think more and more about Sakura. And the orange with it made him think about Naruto. In truth, he couldn't wait till he returned to Konoha to see Sakura and Naruto.


	34. Chapter Thirty Four

Two years later

It was very dark that night and the pair of ninja guarding the Konoha Village gates were having a very hard time staying awake. They were both sure that it was nearly midnight and they were extremely tired. Either way, tired or not, they became very aware that someone was approaching the village. Both sat up quickly and looked off into the darkness, hands on their kunai.

"Who's there?!" One demanded, eyes full of alert.

The pair grew very tense as they watched a figure making its way towards them out of the shadows, followed by a few more. They didn't like the looks of this. Travelers arriving at the Leaf Village so late in the evening, it could only mean trouble. And truth be told, they were too tired right not to fight if they were forced to. But then one of the guards blinked in surprise as the leader made their way towards them. He recognized that face. How could he forget this guy, after all he had put him through as a child? The Ninja's lips curved upward as he relaxed, motioning to his partner to do the same. It was a gesture to let him know that there was no danger. "Well, well, well. Look who's come home. Welcome back." The Ninja said, straightening. "Mind you, I'll need to see your friends' papers."

The leader only nodded before glancing over his shoulder at the other three, who all nodded and pulled out rolled up papers, showing the Ninja guards them. They didn't blame the guards for being so tense. It was pretty late and there were hardly any travelers at this time as it was. So they weren't offended at all after the rude greeting. The guards looked the papers over before smiling at them and nodding their approval.

"Welcome to Konoha Village, the Hidden Village of the Leaves. We hope you enjoy your stay." One guard told the other three before looking at the young leader before him. "You're probably wanting to see the Hokage, but she's indisposed tonight. So you best see her in the morning. The inn is three blocks down then two over. You know where it's at."

The young leader just nodded before already walking away from them with his three teammates following after him. He knew the Hidden Leaf Village way too well, so he could take them straight to the Inn with no problems. And that's exactly what he did.

Not more than an hour later, a shadow jumping rooftop to rooftop finally came to settle on the roof of the Inn. He had heard about the visitors already and had come to greet them himself. He was actually looking forward to see his old student again. The Leaf Jounin, Kakashi felt himself smiling as he landed on the roof in a crouch and rest his one eye on the figure sitting against a chimney. The shadows hid the owner's face but he knew who it was. He nodded as he stood up and made his way over to the young ninja. "Hmm. I heard that you were coming back. I've been waiting for you to return. Welcome home," he paused dipping his head forward. "Gaara."

The figure in the shadows moved forward a little till the light of the moon touched him, revealing Gaara's shaggy red hair and pale skinned face. He had grown quite nicely after his time away from Konoha. He still hadn't gotten a tan like his siblings and new sensei had but his pale complexion suited him well. He wore a similar outfit as to the one he had left Konoha in, only in addition a gray vest over the dark reddish-brown outfit. Only difference was, the jacket under it ran down to his ankles, yet split at the waist in the front and back, which Gaara had strapped to his legs. He had grown rather lean over the years. And of course, he still had the Love tattoo on his forehead.

"Kakashi." The young red head greeted him.

Kakashi nodded right back before sitting down next to him. He tilted his head upward to look at the half-quarter moon high above their heads before turning to glance over at his former student. "So, how was your training? Did you do what you needed to do?" He asked, quietly.

Gaara merely glanced at Kakashi before looking up at the blue moon again, a somewhat smile on his face. He could only dip his head at the Jounin's question. "Yes. I am satisfied with my training. And I am ready to take the obstacles I am about to face." He murmured quietly.

There was a long pause as the two sat in silence. Neither one really didn't know what to say to the other. They must have sat there in silence for ten minutes before Kakashi tilted his head towards Gaara again. "Obstacles, huh? I could only wonder what that means." He then shrugged. "Well, since you're home, I ought to tell you about some of the things that have been happening around here. As you might have heard from your sister, everyone's joined you at the rank of Chuunin. Though Neji Hyuga has become Jounin, with Temari. Everyone's doing great."

"…and Naruto? What news about him?" Gaara asked quietly.

Kakashi had a look as if he was smiling. "Naruto? Well, I haven't heard from him since he left. But Jiraiya's been writing to me. He said that he's doing just fine. Naruto is getting stronger every day. Though, even he's having only a little trouble controlling Kyuubi." He saw the concerned look on Gaara's face but shook his head. "Don't worry. Everything's all right. Naruto is handling himself just fine. Jiraiya has stated that he's been thinking about you and Sakura quite a lot. But he's been concentrating on his training." He told him.

There was a pause before Gaara looked away, frowning and narrowing his dark ringed eyes. "….." He hummed then tilted his head upward again. "Sakura? How is she? Is she still upset about Sasuke?"

Kakashi had a secret smile under his mask but he dipped his head into a nod. He had to admit it but he knew that Sakura was still upset about Sasuke. Everyone knew that. "Yeah. You can't really say his name without her getting a little mopey. But….." he noted how forlorn Gaara looked now, knowing that it was somewhat the same for him too. "But, she's not interested in Sasuke like that anymore. I believe she has finally moved on when it comes to a romantic relationship with Sasuke. She's actually interested in someone else."

Gaara looked away from Kakashi, his eyes no more than slits now. He knew it had to be one of the guys who were still in the village. She must have gotten close with Rock Lee or maybe even Kiba. At least they were here for her when he or Naruto hadn't been. Then again, it could have been Naruto. "Really?" He asked quietly.

"Yes. In fact, it's someone you know very well." Kakashi said, sounding amused.

The red head didn't pursue. He didn't want to hear it. So instead, he glanced at Kakashi. "How was your own training?" he asked, deciding to change the subject.

Kakashi just smiled under his mask, understanding why Gaara had suddenly changed the subject so fast. He wasn't stupid when it came to the boy sitting next to him. So with a shrug, he looked back up at the moon. "It was a success. I have gained something that I've been trying to for a while. It's something that might just as well be better than Itachi Uchiha's." He remarked. Gaara wasn't entirely interested, so he didn't ask. It only made Kakashi pout in his own way.

The very next day, Gaara decided that it was finally time to go talk with Tsunade, though he was a little hesitant about it. He was sure that she was anxious about seeing him, more than less, probably very angry. He had not kept his promise in keeping in contact with her. So there was a pretty good chance of her starting to yell at him, if her temper really was as bad as Jiraiya had warned him about. So without Temari, Baki or Kankuro, Gaara left the Inn to head over to the Hokage Administration building. He, of course, had left a message with the Innkeeper, stating to let his teammates know where he was going. He didn't want them to panic, knowing that they probably would. After having an almost run in with one team of Akatsuki had made them a little paranoid.

Gaara didn't go straight to the Hokage's office though. He figured he would do a little sight seeing and take his time a little. He wasn't exactly looking forward to getting yelled at so early in the morning. So while walking to the Admin building, he did a little zigzag route to see some of the familiar sights.

The Konoha Park, the old Ramen shack, the movie theatre, the Hokage Mountain, back to his old apartment which was on the far side of the Village and away from the Hokage's office.

By the time he finally reached the offices, it was half past dawn, only a few mere hours away before the sun was at the highest point above Konoha Village. Gaara was in front of the Hokage's office, staring up at the building with an unusually calm look on his face but with a deep breath, he went inside. He ignored most of the looks he got from some of the astonished office workers, whom very well knew who he was. He just walked calmly through the halls till he found the Hokage's office. Just sitting outside at her own desk, the young woman he recognized as Shizune was cursing violently as she went through mountains of scrolls. So obviously, the Hokage was slacking off on her work, just like Jiraiya used to tell Gaara. It brought a mild smirk to the young red head's face as he thought about it.

However, as soon as he approached the desk, arms folded over his chest, looking calmly at Shizune, the young woman looked up with a little surprise before she crinkled a nose at him when she finally recognized him. "You know," She said dryly. "Tsunade is real angry with you, Gaara."

"I'm back, am I not?" Gaara said, smirking coyly.

Shizune sighed while rolling her eyes before she pushed herself to her feet and made her way around the desk. She didn't think much of his dry sense of humor right now. Especially with Tsunade pushing all the work towards her. "Don't expect a warm welcome, Gaara. Especially right now. She got drunk last night, as if that doesn't happen rarely." She said rolling her eyes again. Carefully she pushed the door open, as if she was expecting an attack, allowing Gaara to slip inside right after her.

The sight of Tsunade, however, made Gaara's face drop and sweat drop.

The Fifth Hokage was slumped over her desk, practically laying on top of it, sleeping and holding a sake bottle close to her as if it was a teddy bear. It would have been hilarious if not for the smell. A strong odor of sake was in the air, and due to Gaara's somewhat enhanced sense of smell, thanks to Shukaku, it was horrible. He crinkled his nose a little, making a face before sighing and looking calm again.

Shizune, however, picked up a ten-foot pole resting against the wall and began prodding Tsunade with it. It only caused Gaara to raise an eyebrow at her, but she shook her head, giving him a look of caution. "Tsunade is really, really vicious after drinking all night and if you wake up her up while she's sleeping, she tends to lash out at whoever is waking her up. A ninja guard made the mistake of just walking up and waking her from her sleep and she punched him through the wall. So for now, I've instructed everyone to wake her up this way. That way, if she does lash out, she won't send someone to the hospital."

Gaara couldn't help but feel a little uneasy after that.

Shizune, however, started poking Tsunade, who just let out a loud snort and rolled over on the desk, still sleeping. It just made both Shizune and Gaara sweat drop even more as they watched her dryly. So the Poison Specialist decided to poke her mentor harder. This time in the chest, which caused Gaara's face to heat up a little. The Fifth Hokage let out a light squeal before rolling right off the desk and hitting the ground with a loud thud. "Jiraiya! I'm going to kill you!" Tsunade yelled out before shooting to her feet and looking around with fire in her eyes. But she immediately stopped when she saw two very uneasy looking young ninja. She blinked only three times as she stared at Gaara before her face retorted to a look of anger. "WHERE IN THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" She roared, her voice nearly echoing in the entire building, more than less, the village.

A moment later, Tsunade finally calmed down and was seated in her chair behind her desk. She still looked a little sour at Gaara but she wasn't as angry anymore. Especially when Shizune gave her a calming tea. Gaara just stood in the middle of the room, looking calmly at the Fifth Hokage. He silently told her that he was now done with his training and he was ready for the trials coming up.

"So, you're done with your training, then?" Tsunade asked somewhat dryly; annoyed that Gaara hadn't been writing to her over the past years.

Gaara only dipped his head down once, his eyes never leaving the Hokage's. "Yes, Hokage-sama. I am satisfied with my training and I believe I am ready to take my place as Kazekage of Sunagakure." He told her.

The news surprised both Tsunade and Shizune. They both stared at him with wide eyes, looking as if he was playing a joke on them. Neither one could believe what he just said. But then again, it was somewhat expected to Tsunade. She frowned a little and folded her hands together. "Kazekage, hmm? You have to be a Jounin rank before that happens. And even beyond that. Not to mention, you need the approval of the Village's Elders. Do you really think they'll let you, though? You have not lived in the Suna Village at all, other than the past two in a half years. Nearly three years." She told him. "Do you think they'll trust you even though….?"

"Even though I possess Shukaku's spirit inside of me." Gaara finished her sentence with a low tone. He closed his eyes for a second then reopened them, looking serious. "I've heard that before. And I have spoken to one of the Elders during my training. Not too long ago, either." He said quietly.

Tsunade blinked in surprise, along with Shizune but then she nodded for Gaara to go on. She wanted to hear this. If one of the Elders knew that Gaara was alive, then it could mean trouble. But Gaara didn't look too concerned at all. Instead, he took a deep breath and explained how he met one of the Elders. THE Elder, Chiyo, actually.

~~~~~~Flash Back~~~~~~

It was a very hot day the day of the visit, and not even more than sixteen months before the day he would return to Konoha Village. Gaara had been climbing the cliff side, getting very close to the top of the mountain when he suddenly stopped, eyes flashing with alert. He became very aware that someone had just approached the Oasis. And now, they were actually standing right above him, on the top of the cliff, looking down at him. Frowning deeply, he tilted his head back and looked up to see the ancient face of the old woman, Chiyo. She was not alone, of course. Her equally ancient twin brother was standing right next to her, looking down at him. Both, not looked too surprised to see him.

With a swirl of sand, however, Baki appeared right next to them, frowning at the ancient pair. He looked somewhat uneasy that they had discovered Gaara, and their hide away. "Chiyo-sama, Ebizo-sama," He said quietly. "What brings you out here?"

The ancient twins didn't look away from Gaara, who just gave them a dark look for interrupting his training. They only watched as he took a deep breath and climbed the rest of the way up the cliff to join them. The other two, Temari and Kankuro, who looked just as uneasy, also soon joined them. They were looking terrified, actually. They had not wanted Gaara to be discovered so soon.

"We've come to see the one that has my grandson so upset." Chiyo croaked.

Gaara frowned as he folded his slender arms over his bare chest (ooc: DROOL!) and dipped his head down. He didn't like to hear that, but he knew it would have happened sooner or later. "So, here I am. How long will it be before Sasori and the Akatsuki follow after you to retrieve me?" he asked darkly.

There was a pause before the old man let out a long sigh. He merely glanced over at his twin sister before turning his nearly sightless eyes back onto Gaara. "We have not reported to Sasori, nor the Akatsuki of your whereabouts. They have no clue that you are out here." He said calmly.

That news just surprised the four Ninja, including Gaara. They all frowned at the ancient twins though Gaara narrowed his dark ringed eyes at the two. He looked from one to the other than back. He could only wonder what these two's angle was. If they were related to Sasori, and they knew who he was, why didn't they tell anyone that he was there? What could their plan be then if not turning him in? It just made the young red head suspicious.

But as if she read his mind, the old Chiyo shook her head, taking a deep breath. "I care about my grandson much, Gaara of the Shukaku. I would do anything to protect him from any harm at all." She shook her head again. "But times have changed. My grandson has changed too dramatically. His heart has become black as obsidian stone and cold as ice. His mind is twisted after killing and experimenting on many of the Sand Village, turning them into puppets for his own uses. It sends a crack within my heart every time I see him kill a young innocent child just for his own pleasure. My grandson, Sasori, is no more. I am skilled enough to take him on, myself, but my heart still cares too much for him to do him any harm. I cannot bear to harm my little angel."

Temari and Kankuro both snorted and rolled their eyes, but they were ignored.

"The only hope of saving my grandson's soul from any further evil, is to end the wicked deeds he is committing." Chiyo continued, calmly. "I believe that you may have the power to stop him. But to do so, you must become very strong." She then reached into her robes and pulled out two scrolls. "One of these scrolls is for you, Shukaku Carrier." She ignored the young boy when he growled at her. "This scroll contains a most powerful, ancient Jutsu that you can use to your advantage. With the secret technique it possesses, you can practically control the entire desert of the Wind Country. With it, you must strike down the Dawn of Terror, the Akatsuki." She paused with a sad sigh. "And my grandson."

"And the other scroll?" Gaara said quietly as he used the sand to take the scroll the old woman was offering.

Chiyo was quiet for a moment before she turned her ancient eyes onto Kankuro, holding the scroll out to him. "This scroll is for the elder brother, the Puppeteer. You have studied the Puppet Arts under both me and Sasori, young one." She surprised Kankuro greatly by her offer of the scroll. "There are only three Puppeteers in the entire Sand Village. Sasori, myself and you. Therefore, I give you the final puppet you wish to possess. Salamander is a puppet of defense, Kankuro. It is mostly meant to protect, but can be used for offense. In the scroll is not only the puppet, itself, but the secrets of Puppet Arts. You must be warned. Sasori knows all of these secrets, so if you were to go head to head with him, he will know every trick you pull on him. He wrote most of them, himself." She turned her eyes back onto Gaara, who was watching as Kankuro slowly took the scroll possessing the final puppet. But then he looked back at the old woman. "Gaara, do not attempt to visit the Sand Village again, at least until you are old enough to return and fight for the village. The Akatsuki are aware of your presence in the Wind Country. They are not stupid. They have had spies warn them that you visited the village a few times. But they choose not to come after you, just merely waiting for you to reveal yourself. Therefore they can descend on you when you make a grave mistake. The next time you come to the Sand Village, they will be waiting." She told him before turning away with her twin.

"Chiyo-sama," Gaara said quietly, now putting the scroll away into his sand gourd. He was satisfied when Chiyo decided to listen to him and stop. Her back still faced him though, but he knew she was listening. "I wish to become the next Kazekage."

Both Temari and Kankuro's jaws dropped as they stared at their youngest sibling with shock. Baki just frowned, almost as surprised as they were, but not too much. He had been expecting this. Both Chiyo and Ebizu, however, turned around frowning at the young red head. "Kazekage? You wish to become Kazekage? Why tell us that?" The old ornery woman asked dryly.

Gaara's head dipped lower as he continued to stare at the two seriously. "I am aware of how it is done, Chiyo-sama. The Legendary Leaf Sanin, Jiraiya has told me to become Kage, you must be supported by the Village's Elders. And seeing that you are the eldest of the Elders, I must ask you to make me Kazekage." He told them.

There was a very long pause as the two siblings watched the young ninja but they both frowned. The old woman then stepped closer to him, tilting her head to the side. "And what makes you so sure that we will support you, young Ninja? We do not know you. How do you know we don't trust you?" She asked in a very dry tone.

A vampire like smile curled across Gaara's face as his head dipped so low that his chin was pressed against his neck. He looked almost evil with that look in his sea-foam colored eyes. It almost made his siblings shudder to see him smile like that. It was the exactly same smile he wore during the Chuunin Exams when Shukaku took over his body to injure Rock Lee. "And yet," He said slowly. "You just asked me to kill your grandson and take down the Akatsuki. I think you trust me enough to do that. Even if this is the first time we've spoken to one another."

A surprised paused passed for a moment before Chiyo's ancient lips curled into her own smirk. "Clever little Sand Demon." She once again ignored him when he growled at her. "You have been taught well in the Hidden Leaf Village. Whoever taught you there must be proud or have taught you very well."

"Iruka and Kakashi will be glad you said it like that." Remarked Gaara, though he was still looking a little ornery about being called a Sand Demon.

"However," Chiyo said, dryly once again. "What makes you think we can do that? Sasori is Kazekage now. He has been ruling over the Sand Village for nearly fifteen years now. Even if it was the Leader of Akatsuki who appointed him. Most of the Sand Ninja serves him and they will not serve you for they don't know you. If you were to become Kazekage, how can they trust you? To them, you are Shukaku." She stated.

Gaara felt a growl rumble within his head, due to Shukaku feeling a little annoyed that he was being compared with the young red head but he was keeping quiet. The young red haired Ninja had finally gained enough control over the sand demon to keep him quiet. Still, they both felt a little touchy by the old woman's words. But Gaara did have a comeback. Not the greatest, but he was sure it would be effective. "Did you give Sasori your blessing? Do the other Sand Elders support him, even though the people of the Sand Village is suffering for their decision to support him? The last time I was in Suna, I had to stop three Sand Ninja from beating a young boy to death because they believed they could. What kind of Kazekage allows his ninja to do that to an eight year old child?" He growled, his eyes narrowing to slits. "And what kind of elders supports a Kazekage who allows the Sand Ninja to beat on children? What kind of elders supports a Kazekage who lets the people of their village suffer, starve and slave away for a group of barbarians?" He shook his head, looking dangerous. Even the sand around him started to swirl around him, due to his temper, as if becoming one with his emotions. He became very aware of how uneasy his siblings became while he was getting into a very dark mood. "I don't think you gave Sasori your blessing at all if he is going to do these kinds of things to the village and then you come to me with the request to save the people and the honor of the Sand Village. I do not care if no one trusts me now. They can learn to trust me later, after I get rid of the Akatsuki. And after I get rid of the Akatsuki, you can choose a new Kazekage, if you wish. But I will not stand here, in this desert and watch as your grandson kills the people my father, the Fourth Kazekage swore to protect, even if it meant using his own son as a weapon to do it. I didn't like it when I learned that all he wanted from me was the power of Shukaku. I hated him for it. I still hate him for it. But those people in that Sand Village are my mother's people too. I'm doing this for her. Now, will you support me or not?"

There was a very long pause as the two elders stared at the angry looking red head, as the two siblings of the angry red head looked in between them with mild fear and extreme uneasy and as the Sand Jounin stood, looking on Gaara with pride in his eyes. It was no doubt that he was supporting his young student's words.

But after that very long moment of silence, other than the sound of sand brushing against sand, Chiyo smiled again, dipping her head low. "Brave words, Young Shukaku." Another growl from the young Ninja. "But we will not support you…" An even louder growl came from him, though Chiyo did acknowledge this own. "…..just yet." She lift her head higher and folded her hands together in front of her. She was quiet for a moment as she took something in thought before shaking her head and digging into her pocket again, pulling something out, that was wrapped in dark blue fabric. "However, to become the Kazekage, you need to be Sand Ninja. Therefore," She paused tossing something over to the young red, which he caught. To his surprise, it was a forehead protector with the Sand symbol on it. "You shall become one. To add onto that, I don't like the slug girl who now rules over the Leaf Village." She received a puzzled look from Gaara and the others. "….but I have heard that she's been doing some good there. She might be a lazy, gambling little brat, but she is a good leader. If you get her approval, then you will have ours. She will make you Kazekage when she says so. Even if you be Chuunin now. Our decision to support you will be her decision. So if she says yes, you may become the Fifth Kazekage, overriding Sasori's position. Even if he likes it or not. The Akatsuki will have no choice but to listen to the decision of the Elders. Even if they decide to kill us for making this decision. You will become Kazekage when Tsunade-slug girl says you will."

And with that said, Chiyo and Ebizo turned and used the Sand Teleportation Jutsu to leave.

~~~~End Flashback~~~~~

After Gaara finished telling Tsunade the entire tale dealing with Chiyo and Ebizo, he looked her right the eyes, almost asking her what he wanted to with them. The Fifth Hokage, however, folded her hands in front of her and rest her lips against them, watching the young red head carefully. Just judging by the look in her eyes, Gaara could tell that she was thinking very carefully of how she would put her thoughts into sentences. And it was no doubt that she was trying to make her decision on what to do about his new title.

Next to her, Shizune was shifting nervously, looking from Tsunade to Gaara and back. She felt somewhat uncomfortable to be in the same room when they were discussing such serious business with each other. She knew very well aware that the situation might grow serious if Tsunade refused to support Gaara. She was well aware that he had a little bit of a temper problem, himself, if not it matching her mentor's.

But after a very long moment, Tsunade closed her eyes, looking as if she was praying. She then turned slightly in her chair and opened her eyes to look at the far wall, where five portraits hung. One of them was of herself, while the other four were portraits of the former Hokages. Gaara's own eyes lingered on the Third Hokage. It did bring some sad memories of the old man. In a way, he missed him. The Third had been kind to him when others hadn't been.

"What would you do, Minato?" He heard Tsunade whisper so low that even he almost missed.

Gaara frowned as he glanced side wards at the Fifth Hokage before looking up at the picture of the Fourth Hokage. He frowned as he stared at it. For some reason, there was something too familiar about that golden haired man, even if he had looked at the Fourth's face on the Hokage Mountains day after day since he was just a boy. The golden hair, the cerulean blue eyes, they both looked so familiar.

'Naruto…?' He found himself think, his eyes lighting up a little.

But before he could ponder the thought anymore, Tsunade swirled back around to face him, looking at him with a serious gaze. They both met each other's eyes, looking at each other with seriousness. It just made Shizune so nervous that she literately shuddered and broke into a sweat. She hated it when Tsunade got so serious like this. It seemed so unnatural.

Finally, the Fifth Hokage took a deep breath and folded her hands together on the desk, sitting up almost as stiff as a board. "Considering what you have done in the past, Gaara, and your decision making, I must say that you do have a lot of work to do before becoming a leader of an entire Village." She stated, which only caused Gaara to lower his head, still looking her right in the eye. "But after I hold a meeting with a few ninja that you have worked with, I will give you my answer tonight. Until then….."

Both heads whipped around when they felt Chakra quickly approaching the room, making them both frown with unease. They could feel the Chakra quickly approaching them, which didn't feel too well. Someone seemed to be in state of shock and it could have meant the worst. Gaara's thoughts immediately ran to Naruto. Had the Akatsuki caught up to him?! Did a messenger bring news that he was in trouble?!

SLAM!

The door swung so fast that when it collided with the wall, it cracked the wood. It made Gaara grow very tense, almost as if there was danger. But seeing who it was made him freeze. His eyes growing a little wide with alarm as he stared at the intruder. Even Tsunade looked a little surprised, but then she frowned, crinkling her nose at her apprentice. She was annoyed at this sudden disruption but knew it might have happened anyway.

It was Sakura Haruno.

The pinkette was looked very wide eyed at Gaara, almost as if she was seeing someone who had died and come back to life. Her brow was a little sweaty from running so hard but after meeting up with Temari and Kankuro, as well as the Sand Ninja, Baki on the road, she had immediately knew that Gaara must have been back. She even asked the two siblings before coming to her mentor's office to see if he was there. She had asked them if Gaara was with them and if he was back. Both Temari and Kankuro looked a little mischievous but they had told her yes. So, she bolted from them.

And now that Gaara was looking at her, he frozen with surprise.

Sakura had changed a great deal while he was away. She was definitely taller and a little more lean that he remembered. Not to mention, grown in a few different ways. Her cherry blossom colored hair was still cut short to right above her shoulders and her eyes were almost as green as spring leaves. She wore a slightly different outfit to what she used to wear. A red vest over a black mesh shirt and black shorts under a dusty pink skirt. Arm and elbow guards were on both arms, which only added onto how good she looked.

But the thing was that had Gaara the most stunned, it was of how beautiful she looked. It was like seeing the multicolored sunset for the first time in his lift.

"G-Gaara…." Sakura whispered, still a little breathless and surprised.

The young red head turned fully towards her, looking her over just once before meeting her emerald green eyes. He felt a sense of peace wash over him, yet too much of it. He didn't like too much peace because it just meant he let down his guard. "Sakura," He whispered right back. "You look good." He felt like slapping himself very hard for even letting those words slip out of his mouth. Especially just right when Temari, Kankuro and Baki had just appeared in the doorway behind Sakura. Both of his siblings began grinning wickedly at his sudden embarrassment, while Baki on the other hand just smiled and shook his head. He found that Gaara's embarrassment was amusing.

Sakura, however, moved forward, still looking like she was too bewildered to say anything. She just stared at her old team mate as if he was a ghost. She stared up into his eyes with her own, looking as if she was going to cry. She was trying to decide what to do now that her teammate had returned. She was debating on two different things. Hug him and greet him or…well, the total opposite of that. It was then she settled for the second option.

She frowned deeply and slapped Gaara across the face, hard.

The skin to skin contact not only startled Gaara but everyone else. Everyone winced as they watched the young red head's head get thrown to the side, though he didn't react at all. All he did was close his eyes and keep his head turned away from Sakura, a look of pain on his face but he did not react at all. Both Temari and Kankuro winced, cringing when they saw how hard Sakura's eyes had gotten within the mere few seconds. They were just stunned that she would even slap Gaara in the first place. Tsunade, however, just frowned and folded her arms over her curvy chest, watching the two very carefully. She was actually very curious of how this would turn out.

Slowly, Gaara opened his eyes, keeping them adverted from Sakura's face but slowly the lift up and he looked right at her with forlorn but a hint of sadness in them. Sakura just glared at him. She looked so furious with him. And he was sure it had to deal with the fact that he failed to bring Sasuke back for her. It did hurt his heart a little.

"Gaara," Sakura said, clenching her fists tightly, her head dipped down a little as she glared at him. "The next time you decide to leave Konoha Village…."

'Don't come back. I know.' Gaara thought as he lowered his eyes.

"Do not EVER leave without telling me goodbye or when you're coming back or where you are going!" Sakura said sharply, raising a finger at him to shake. Her words surprised Gaara, though. He blinked only once before looking at her with surprise. She only shook her head at him, not even letting him say anything, not that he was going to. He was too stunned too. She just lowered her hand again, giving him a pained look. "Do you know how worried I was about you?! I was so scared that something had happened to you! More or less I was so hurt that you left without saying anything to me or anyone else! And it hurt even more that it had to be Kakashi and Tsunade-sama who told me where you were going! I just wished you would have said something to me before you left!" She said with tears filling in her eyes.

Gaara stared at her with wide eyes. He was somewhat speechless, if not completely. He hadn't been expecting her to scold him for leaving without saying good bye. He had thought she would have been furious with him that he didn't keep his promise that he made about bringing Sasuke back. But, right now, so it seemed, she was angry at him for leaving without saying good bye.

"Sakura…" He said quietly before lowering his head and looking down at the ground. "Do you hate me for not bringing Sasuke back?"

His question took everyone a little by surprise, if they weren't surprised enough. Even Sakura blinked at him with her own surprise but then her face softened a little and lowered her own head. "…no, Gaara. I don't hate you for not bringing Sasuke back. That was not your fault. It wasn't yours or Naruto's." She lift her head again and smiled faintly at him. "I hate Sasuke for leaving. But I could never, ever hate you." Her words took him by surprise again, making him frown at her in wonder. "Gaara, I'm only mad at you because you left without saying anything. I thought something bad might have happened to you." She then reached up and touched the side of his face where she slapped him, which took him back a little. He tensed a bit but didn't move away from her. He was just too stunned that she was even touching him. "I'm sorry for slapping you. I guess I shouldn't have done that." Sakura said, faintly smiling before she really started to smile. Her eyes flashed brightly and she let out a little bell like laugh as she launched herself forward, throwing her arms around a very bewildered Gaara. "Welcome home, Gaara! I missed you so much!"

Of course, with her hugging him so suddenly, he didn't have time to catch himself or her, which only sent them both to the ground with a loud thud. The sand didn't even bother to catch them. It seemed that Shukaku had something to do with that because he was roaring in Gaara's head with laughter. And joining him was everyone else.

"Awww. I missed it." Came Kakashi's voice, proving that he had just arrived with a camera in his hand. "I had wanted to get a picture of that." The Jounin pouted as he came into Tsunade's office, which only caused everyone to laugh harder. Temari and Kankuro had to lean against each other to keep their selves from falling over from laughing so hard. They found it very amusing of how flustered Gaara was, and how bright red his face had gone.


	35. Chapter Thirty Five

After everyone settled down about Gaara's return, and Gaara stood up, also helping up Sakura, who was blushing almost as red as he was. She was a little embarrassed that she reacted so strongly like she had. She even apologized a few times, though she really didn't look like she was too sorry. Gaara, however, had to shoot Kankuro a dark look to make him shut up because he still hadn't stopped laughing after ten minutes of the embarrassing moment. He hadn't stopped blushing either. He had to turn away from everyone and quickly call sand to cover his face, just until the red tint went away.

Of course, Sakura once again apologized for slapping him. She did feel a little embarrassed for losing her temper a little like that. She must have apologized to him five times before Tsunade simply told her to knock it off.

After everything settled down, Tsunade dismissed everyone but Kakashi, telling Sakura and Gaara that they should give Baki a tour around the Village, since this was technically the first time he had ever been to it. Agreeing, Gaara lead the small group away from the Admin building while Tsunade spoke to Kakashi. He had already guessed what she was going to talk to him about. In a way, he wanted to see the look on his former Jounin sensei when Tsunade told him about his request. He was sure that the silver-white haired ninja would have been stunned stupid.

The tour around the Village was very entertaining enough though. The old sights were a relief on Gaara's part, even though he had seen them earlier. But now he was walking with Sakura and his Sand team down the road, showing Baki around. He thought it was somewhat funny just by the look on Baki's face. The Jounin looked a little amazed of how peaceful the Konoha Village was. The young red head could see that this was touching the Sand Ninja's heart a little, giving him a little hope that maybe the Sand Village could be like this one. The people would be happy, at peace and feeling safe from any harm. It only drove him to saving Suna Village. Of course, along the way of walking through the village, they soon their selves suddenly surrounded by their old classmates, along with Team Gai. Rock Lee had actually tried to tackle Gaara from behind, which definitely did not work because he ran head long right into the sand wall that was thrown up to protect himself from being hugged by the way too energetic and cheerful ninja.

Either way, everyone seemed to be happy that Gaara was back. It just astonished him a little to see every one of the old Rookies smiling at him and patting him on the back, giving him a "Welcome home."

"Man! So where've you been, dude?!" Kiba asked, actually riding on his now huge dog's back. "It's been way too quiet without you and old block head around."

Gaara felt his mouth curve up a little at the nickname Kiba gave Naruto. If it would have been years ago, before he even became a ninja, he probably would have smashed sand against Kiba's face for insulting Naruto. But now, in a way, these guys, and girls, were considering him as their friend. It might have been the other way around too. The young red head was starting to see them as his friends. All because of "Old Blockhead." It was true that it had been Naruto's doing that Gaara even started fitting in with this crowd. "I've only been training in the Land of Wind." He said quietly.

"Yeah!" Kankuro said grinning as he walked beside Shino and Shikamaru, who was talking to Temari. "We've been climbing high cliffs for almost three years! You should have seen this guy! He kept on standing out in sandstorms, wearing nothing but pants!" he then grinned when some of the girls began to blush as they began picturing Gaara without a shirt. Sakura had gone the brightest red as she adverted her eyes from her red haired teammate.

Gaara, however, sent Kankuro flying through the air after smacking with a sand arm, a blush of his own on his face. Everyone laughed either way.

Shikamaru, however, smirked as he turned his dark eyes onto the red head, his hands stuffed into his pockets. He seemed to have remembered something a little amusing because he was making a sound as if he was laughing. "Hey, Gaara. Remember what I said before you took off? Why not have our little match right now then?" He asked.

That caught almost everyone's attention, making them all stop talking to one another and look at the two. Sakura had stopped chatting with Ino, just to look at Gaara and Shikamaru with surprise. She hadn't even been aware that they had made a deal to fight or anything. It actually kind of worried her.

Gaara, on the other hand, just looked at the lazy genius with a secret smile. "Why not? Let's see if you have what it takes to beat me."

"Heh. You're unusually cocky, Gaara." Shikamaru said before nodding for him to follow. He started to lead the red head and everyone else to the Konoha Training Grounds. A few of the others actually looked excited. They all wanted to see how good Gaara had gotten while he had been on his training trip. The entire group went out to the Training grounds and sat around as they watched Shikamaru and Gaara moved a little ways from them, still facing one another.

"Shikamaru!" Ino called, with a worried look on her face as she sank down between Sakura and Choji. "Are you sure this is a good idea?! You know how…..erm…..well, you know how good Gaara is, don't you?"

Shikamaru didn't look at her but he dipped his head into a nod. He knew very well, as did Gaara that Ino had meant to say, 'You know how dangerous Gaara could be.' But he didn't look bothered at all. "Yeah, Gaara's good. But I want to see how good he got over the past years." He said as he retained a lazy stance.

Kankuro snorted as he folded his arms over his chest and nudged his older sister, who was frowning as she watched Shikamaru and Gaara facing one another. "Hey, Tem. Your lazy boyfriend is about to get creamed. Are you sure you don't have any last words for him before he gets himself killed?" he asked, smirking.

WHAM!

Temari slammed her giant fan over Kankuro's head, looking highly annoyed by what he just said. There was a sharp tick pulsing on her temple as she turned away from him, arms folded over her chest, looking extremely pissed off. "That lazy ass isn't my boyfriend, Kankuro! Say that again and I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!" She yelled at him before looking at Shikamaru and Gaara again, while the others looked highly alert or terrified of her.

Gaara and Shikamaru paid no mind to them though. They just kept their eyes on one another, looking ready to get their match started. The young red head just folded his arms over his chest and dipped his head down a little. "If you don't wish to embarrass yourself, just say so and we won't do this." He remarked quietly.

"Hmph. Yeah, you definitely got a little cocky over the years." Shikamaru said with amusement before tilting his head to the side as if looking at something. "By the way, it's kind of odd that a ninja would have two forehead protectors, don't you think?" His words surprised everyone making them look to see what they were talking about only to see that he was telling the truth. Sitting on the gourd strap, side by side was not only Gaara's Leaf forehead protector but a Sand headband as well.

Gaara just dipped his head lower but then smirked. "Are we going to chat all day or fight? I have better things to do than just talk you know." He said quietly.

Shikamaru smiled right back at Gaara before shrugging lazily. Then he nodded to him. "All right. Let's get this over with. Let's see what you can do, Gaara." He said before snapped to a stance, ready to fight it out.

Sand, however, immediately shot forward to attack while Gaara remained still as stone. He just controlled his sand to fly at Shikamaru, who immediately began to dodge as the sand was trying to hit him or capture him. He had to move very fast because the sand was moving at an incredible speed. It surprised the lazy genius of how fast it had gotten. But he had been expecting this. He quickly began dodging all over the clearing, back flipping or barrel rolling to avoid the sand. Shikamaru then quickly dove right over a tendril of sand, snapping his hands together into a hand sign. His shadow shot towards Gaara, who merely frowned as he looked down at it before having to jump off to the side to avoid his shadow mixing with Shikamaru's. So obviously the shadow manipulator was trying to capture him through his shadow to win this match.

But with a smirk on his face, he sent more sand flying towards Shikmaru who also had to move to avoid getting hit. They were both trying to dodge sand and shadows to avoid losing this fight.

"I see that your sand is faster but are you?!" Shikamaru called over before quickly snatching up paper bombs and throwing at Gaara.

The red head saw them coming and quickly summoned up sand to block the explosive. Sand went flying upon the explosion but to Gaara's mild surprise, here came Shikamaru swinging a fist towards his head, deciding to take a Taijutsu approach. It wasn't something that Shikamaru would usually do but the young sand controller complied to his challenge and threw up an arm to block the attack. Shikamaru smirked as he swung quickly on his heel, his foot swiftly approaching Gaara's head, who ducked right under it before lashing out his own. Both young Chuunin was somewhat surprised when both of their feet slammed into each other, sending them staggering back. But they were once again smirking at one another while listening to the others cheer them on.

Gaara just crouched low into a horse stance with one fist close to his chest and one stretched out, a low smirk on his face. Shikamaru copied the stance, or somewhat like it. It was like they were doing a mirrored move. "Not bad, Shikamaru. You've definitely improved." The very quiet ninja remarked.

It was then the others realized that Shikamaru's shadow as connected with Gaara's. So it wasn't the lazy genius who was copying the red head. It was the other way. Sakura frowned with concern but watched carefully, trying to decide what her teammate would do to get out of this.

Shikamaru's eyes suddenly flashed wide open when he sensed an attack from behind him and he whirled his head around to see sand flying at him. He realized he might have been controlling Gaara's body but he still couldn't control his mind. Therefore, he had almost forgotten that the sand manipulator didn't always need his hands to control his sand. He quickly released the Jutsu and jumped out of the way to avoid being caught. "Heh. Always using sand, huh, Gaara?"

Gaara merely shrugged as he looked just as lazy as Shikamaru was. "Sand is my specialty after all. Now, why don't I show you a more evasive move I have learned." He said quietly before quickly slapping his palms together.

"Oh! So he is going to show that one off! I didn't think he would!" Kankuro said grinning.

The other Ninja looked over at the Puppeteer, all frowning in confusion. Neither any of them knew what he was talking about. But the move that Gaara was probably going to show off was a new technique he had come up with. "What move is that?" Kiba asked, leaning against Akamaru.

Both Temari and Kankuro looked directly at Baki, who was smirking himself. They were all very aware of what technique that Gaara was about to use. "It's a very effective one. Shikamaru will have a hard time keeping an eye on Gaara after this one." The Jounin said dipping his head down. "Gaara learned this technique with the help of a Suna Elder."

"Sandstorm!" Gaara called out the name before his gourd literately exploded into sand.

The sand began to spread out quickly before shooting everywhere, looking as if a sandstorm had just kicked up within the forest. It was like a thick layer of sand just washed right over the clearing, making it extremely hard for anyone to see. It wasn't helping Shikamaru's case at all because he had to close his eyes and over his face to avoid getting sand in his eyes. He also had to clamp his mouth shut to keep himself from inhaling any. 'Aw, man! If Gaara keeps this up, it's going to be impossible to beat him!' Shikamaru thought quickly as he tried to peer through his arms. He almost swore out loud when he couldn't see anything but a blanket of sand surrounding him. 'Okay, Shikamaru! Just think! You can get past this! Just think!' He thought before closing his eyes and forming the heart sign with his hands.

Gaara was still right where he was, peering through the sand, watching Shikamaru. He was well aware that he was trying to come up with a plan but it made him smirk. There was only one way to beat this Jutsu but he knew very well that Shikamaru wouldn't be able to. The only thing to do to get past this Jutsu was to be a water specialist and that was not the lazy genius.

Frowning, Shikamaru finally opened his eyes and looked around, wincing a little as sand brushed by him but then he smirked. He had seemed to come up with something. It was risky by a long shot but it might work. "All right, Gaara. Didn't want to do this but you leave me no choice." He stated before he closed his eyes and slammed his hands together, forming a hand sign. He didn't yell it out but merely stated it. To Gaara's surprise, Shikamaru's shadow seemed to explode outward right from underneath him, moving in all different directions. It even lift up into the air, like spikes flying outward. Not wanting to take the chance, he quickly moved backwards, to avoid getting hit. The sand crunching a little under his feet.

It was then that Shikamaru's head turned sharply, as if he heard him. "Ah-ha! There you are!" He said before throwing several kunai from his hand, with explosive tags tied to them.

Gaara gritted his teeth as he had to move quickly to avoid getting hit by the explosives. He knew it wasn't any bluff that Shikamaru was using to get him. He knew very well that the shadow expert was using the sound to find him. It brought a smirk to his face. 'Well, looks like he has gotten better.' He thought before he rose both hands and shot them towards Shikamaru. And to his satisfaction, the swirling sand all around them began to grab a hold of Shikamaru's arms, binding them to his sides.

"Shikamaru!" Ino shouted in alarm, getting to her feet. Then she looked sharply towards Gaara. "Gaara, you better not kill him!"

That caught the young red head off guard, making his head turn sharply towards her, but in truth, her words struck him a little. Frowning with forlorn, Gaara straightened himself before calling back all of the sand, even the sand that had been binding Shikamaru. He didn't exactly blame Ino for over reacting a little, thinking that he might have been performing the Sand Burial. He knew very well that was what everyone was thinking that it was just by seeing the concerned looks on some of the others' faces. Rock Lee, Sakura, Temari and Kankuro, however gave Ino a dry stare for what she just said.

"INO!" Sakura yelled at her, fists balled up into tight fists. "Why did you have to go and say something like that?! Gaara would never hurt Shikamaru like that!"

Ino looked taken aback but she felt like defending herself. Tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder, she gave her old pink haired friend a dry stare. "Well, it didn't look like it! It looked like he was about squeeze MY teammate to a oblivion!"

Shikamaru picked himself off the ground, brushing off his pants before crinkling his nose in Ino's direction. "Ino, just relax. It didn't hurt, all right? He wasn't even having his sand squeezing me anyway. He was just subduing me so I couldn't move my hands anymore." He then looked over at Gaara, who was looking away. "Hey, let's finish this now. Don't listen to Ino." He told him.

"No. The match is over." Gaara said quietly before turning away and starting back towards the Village. "There is no need to finish."

No one spoke as they just watched him start to walk away. They all knew very well that Ino's words had struck Gaara a little too hard. And it hit all of them that Gaara believed that they still didn't trust him. Sakura shot Ino a look before she was quickly after Gaara. She didn't think that he should be alone anyhow. Still standing against the tree, Baki sighed, shaking his head. He was a little angry with the blonde girl who shouted out to Gaara but he knew it wasn't his place to say anything to her. So he would keep quiet.

"Gaara! Hey! Gaara, wait up!" Sakura called as she hurried after her teammate. She was so furious with Ino for what she had said to him. She couldn't believe that even after all that he had done for the village, Ino still didn't trust him completely. In a way, she knew it was because Ino didn't know him and had always been a little intimidated by him but still. "Gaara! Whoa!"

Gaara had stopped suddenly and turned around to wait for her, but he frowned in surprise when she almost ran into him. He had to catch her by the shoulders to keep them from colliding. Like her, he felt his face flush a little from the contact.

"Sorry." Sakura said blushing before shaking her head. "Gaara, don't listen to Ino-pig! She's really stupid when it comes to you! She should have realized that you wouldn't have hurt Shikamaru!"

Gaara looked at her but shook his head as he turned away. "It doesn't matter. I understand. She does not trust me and I don't blame her. After what happened during the Chuunin Exams, I can't say I do." He said quietly, looking as if he was about to leave. But he had to stop because Sakura grabbed a hold of his arm, making him just stand there and not go anywhere. He could only look at her, frowning a little but not really feeling too bothered by her touch.

"That's nonsense, Gaara!" Sakura said, frowning right back. "You are one of us! Yeah, you lost control a few times, but you did so much to help us too! Ino should realize that. Everyone else trusts you, Gaara. I trust you. Why can't she? She needs to apologize to you for what she said."

"And she will."

Both Gaara and Sakura turned around just to see Shikamaru and Choji now dragging a protesting Ino towards them, along with everyone else trailing behind. The blonde was squealing at the two, telling them to quit pushing but they were ignoring her. It had been Shikamaru who spoke. He just nudged Ino closer to Gaara, who watched them coolly. "Ino has something she wants to say to you." He looked at his blonde teammate. "Go on, Ino. Quit being such a brat." He remarked.

Ino rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest before turning to Gaara. She looked rather moody that she was being forced to do this but she figured it was time to get it over with. "Gaara, I'm…"

"Do not apologize." Gaara interrupted, surprising her and the others. He in fact did not want anyone to apologize against their will. "I understand why you are still nervous of me, Ino. And I will not bear a grudge against you. I did many wrong things to some of you. I nearly destroyed Lee. I threatened Kiba, Hinata and Shino at one time. And I nearly crushed Sakura while fighting Sasuke and Naruto." He turned away from them. "Do not apologize if you don't want to. I do not want to make any one do anything against their will. Thank you, Shikamaru, for the match. It was entertaining. I learned that you have gained much experience. But for now, we'll leave it at that." He started to walk away.

Ino, however, made a very frustrated sound and she stomped her foot as if very angry. "Now, you hold on one minute, Gaara!" She barked, making all cringe with horror that she started snapping at the red head. Either way, it made him stop and turn to look at her. "I'm here apologizing, all right? Even if Shikamaru and Choji is making me! Don't you walk away while I'm doing that because I hate being ignored!" She then moved forward, looking fiercely into his teal eyes. "I'm sorry for saying that. And that's me saying it. Not someone making me say it. I trust you, okay? If Sakura and everyone else does, then so do I! So take my apology already, will ya?!" She demanded, furiously.

There was a long pause as everyone stared wide eyed at Ino, wondering if she had completely lost her mind. Gaara just stared dully at her but then his face softened and his lips curved up a little. He could only nodded. "Apology accepted." He said quietly, making all smile now. Even Ino.

That is until sand lashed out at everyone, shoving them all back and making them all yelp.

Gaara had sensed something coming very quickly and it felt like a threat. Either way, he had quickly moved everyone out of the way before quickly leaping off to the side just as a rain of Kunai came falling down where he had been. The kunai hit the cobblestones hard, but bounced right off. Gaara turned sharply to see who just attacked him, only to get a very dull look on his face when a certain someone jumped down from one of the buildings and landed on her feet.

"Damn it! You've gotten even faster! I could have sworn I would have gotten you this time!" Anko Mitarashi said, grinning rudely at the red head.

Everyone just frowned as they stood up, and gave the wild Jounin a look for trying to stick Gaara with kunai. Sakura looked ready to start pounding someone. She even balled up a fist while glaring at Anko. Gaara, however, smirked as he stood in a crouch before lashing out with his sand at the Jounin. Everyone just gasped as they watched as he started to take her on. Anko grinned right back before quickly back flipping away from the sand, avoiding it as much as possible. Then she lurched towards Gaara, with a fist raised. She threw the fist while Gaara called up sand in between them, catching her arm from inches from his face. "Hello, Anko. Nice to see you again." He murmured with amusement.

Anko grinned and shook her head before pulling her arm loose from the sand. She took the few seconds to wipe sand from her skin before reaching over and rustling Gaara's already messy hair, gaining an irritated growl from him. "Good to see you, Bloody Bob. It's been a while. At least you're faster with that sand of yours. I was watching that match between you and Nara too. Nice." She remarked.

"Why did you attack him in the first place, though?!" Sakura demanded.

Anko turned around and gave her a lazy shrug and a smile. "Ah, just making sure his training didn't go to waste. And it hasn't." She then pointed at Ino. "And it's a good thing you did apologize to him for that remark earlier. Because if you hadn't and you would have gone and ruined the pact treaty between the Leaf and Sand Village, you would've been in big trouble." She told the blonde.

Everyone, including Gaara blinked in surprise. They didn't understand what she meant by that. Though it was slowly dawning on the young red head. He straightened, now looking somewhat serious but satisfied. "Then she has decided?" he remarked, getting everyone to look at him in surprise next.

Anko turned around and gave him a smirk while folding her arms. She only shook her head a little but then nodded. "Tsunade's been in a meeting all morning with all of the Elite Jounin and the Leaf Elders talking about it. She's actually sent me here to get you. She wants to discuss it with you and your siblings right now. That Sand Ninja of yours, Baki is already there. Ibiki had retrieved him." She told him.

"Gaara, what is she talking about?" Kiba asked, frowning as he leaned against Akamaru.

Gaara and Anko looked around at everyone, noting how confused they all looked. But then the wild Jounin shook her head as she smugly smiled and tossed a thumb into Gaara's direction. "Believe it or not, people. But you might just as well be looking at the new Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village." She told them. All of the young ninja were stunned by the news. Everyone but Gaara, Temari and Kankuro that is.

In the Hokage's office, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro had arrived with Anko, though the others were waiting just outside the doors. They had been too stunned to learn that Gaara was going to try and become the new Kazekage. They had launched into questions, asking Gaara what Anko meant by that. And he simply answered that he was trying to become the new Kazekage. The look their faces was priceless though. Sakura was one of the few who was just too surprised to say anything at all.

Now, the three siblings stood in a conference room, surrounded by Jounin, including Neji, seeing that he was Jounin.

It had been funny though. As soon as Gaara had entered the room, much like what happened with Rock Lee, Gai had launched forward to give the young red head a hug. He had been so happy to see him again, that he even started crying. Of course, Gaara put up a sand wall, which the youth loving Jounin bounced right off and hit the floor. Most of the Jounin just started laughing.

Among the Jounin, Iruka was one of the few Chuunin that was required to attend this important meeting. Since he had helped teach Gaara when he was younger, it was almost mandatory for him.

"As we all know now why we are all here," Tsunade began the meeting, looking around the room at everyone in it. "I won't need to repeat myself. I've already explained to you about Gaara of the Sand's request. So we are here to let him know our answer." She turned her brown eyes onto Gaara, folding her hands in front of her. "I have spoken to your Sand sensei, Baki, Gaara. He has explained to me the happenings of the Sand Village. Technically, the Leaf Village cannot do anything about what happens there. It is none of our business what goes on in a village that has served as our enemy for generations. It doesn't help the fact that the Sand Village had been responsible for the death of our Third Hokage either. The Sand Village had helped Orochimaru attack our village and killed many of our numbers. They became our mortal enemies when they did that." She held up a hand when Temari opened her mouth to argue, giving her a stern look. "However, that was the doing of the Sand Ninja and Akatsuki member, Sasori, who we understand is posing as the Kazekage there. There can not be two Kazekages, Gaara. It's just not done." She said but then she took a deep breath and rest her chin against her hands. "However, again, as Baki explained it, the Sand Elders did not give Sasori their blessing and support. Therefore, he is not Kazekage." Her eyes had closed for a moment before reopening, looking at Gaara seriously. "Considering that you are more a Leaf Ninja than Sand Ninja, we wouldn't even allow you to become a Kage of another Village."

"But, Tsunade-sama…" Temari tried to argue. But Gaara held up a hand to her, shaking his head. He knew very well that Tsunade wasn't finished with what she was saying. So with a sigh, his sister shut up again.

Tsunade waited for a second as she gave the young Sand Jounin a look for arguing but then she looked right at Gaara, her face softening. "But, Baki has explained on what exactly has been going on in Sunagakure. He has told all of us of the pain that the Village's people are in because of the so called Kazekage." She lift her head higher. "So therefore, by the majority of the vote, which was most of the Jounin and even two of the Elders," She shot one of the elders, one with a very stern look about him (Danzo). "We have voted," She turned her eyes back onto Gaara, smiling slyly. "That you are to become the Fifth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village."

Both Temari and Kankuro looked more surprised than Gaara did while he just faintly smiled at the Hokage. He felt relieved of the choice that she had made. And now, he was Kazekage. "Thank you, Hokage-sama." He murmured quietly. "I greatly appreciate it."

"I still think it's a bad idea." Spoke the one elder that Tsunade had given a dark look to. He looked rather foul about the entire situation. "The boy has been the property of the Leaf Village since he even arrived here. He belongs to the Leaf Village as a Leaf Ninja. Making him the leader of one of our oldest enemies, that is the most stupid mistakes you've ever made, Tsunade."

The Fifth Hokage turned her head and gave the Elder a very dry stare, her hand now into a clenched fist. She looked rather peeved by this man's words. "Danzo, Gaara is his own person, got that? We have different perspectives on what shall be done about him." She spoke just as sternly as she was looking at him. And when he looked like he was going to keep arguing, she then slammed a fist onto the desk, looking furious. "You've already shared your point of view about Gaara, Danzo! All he is to you is a weapon, just like Naruto! They are not things we use for war! They are people! Young adults! The demon spirits inside of them must not be used to start the war that you believe that will happen!" She shouted, now pointing at the old man, who was glaring at her. "Gaara will be Kazekage! And he will save the village that he was born in! And the Leaf Village will support him as he leads the attack on the Akatsuki! Like it or not! We will not hold him against his will, here!"

Danzo narrowed his one revealed eye at her but shook his head as he gripped his staff tightly in his hand. "What business is of ours anyway, Tsunade? What do we owe the Sand Village? They have caused us nothing but pain and suffering!" he said gruffly.

"The happenings of the Sand Village will follow here." Spoke Gaara very quietly, making all eyes turn to him. He wasn't looking happy that this man was speaking about him as if he was a weapon but he was doing well in keeping his anger at bay. He was surprised that Shukaku hadn't started up a fit over this man. But he could only figure that the Sand demon was just letting him take care of this problem. "The Akatsuki will soon grow tired of ruling over the Sand Village and will try to move on to a bigger and stronger village. To them, the Great Ninja Villages are just challenges for them. They will want a bigger challenge now that the Sand Village won't oppose them." His sea-foam colored eyes looked the old man sternly as he dipped his head down. "Sooner or later, they will attack the Leaf Village, in search for Naruto. All the while, they will do the very same thing they did to Sunagakure. They will try and enslave all of you."

The old man just lift his head up and gave the young red head a very stern look. "And what makes you think that the Leaf Village can't defend our own?" he demanded.

Gaara looked away, his eyes trailing towards the window. He knew the old man had a point. The Leaf Village was full of strong and powerful ninja that could fight off a good legion of enemy ninja. They could defend their selves fine.

However, Baki moved forward to address the Elder. "Forgive me for speaking out of place, Elder-sama. But I have to agree with Gaara with this." He received a dark look from the Elder. A look he had received many times from Sasori when he made his arguments. But he did not fear this old goat. All he saw from him was a grumpy old man. So he would speak out of place. "Years ago, when the Akatsuki attacked the Hidden Sand Village, there had been hundreds of ninja who fought to defend the village." He explained, his face growing very grave. "But there were only five Akatsuki members who lead a group of grunt Ninja against us."

His words not only surprised all of the Leaf Ninja but Gaara as well. The young red head had really never asked Baki exactly what happened that fateful day fifteen years ago. He had been a little nervous of doing so. He knew it would only remind the Sand Jounin of painful memories. But to hear that there had only been five Akatsuki members who attacked the Sand Village…..?!

"Five? There were only five? Exactly how weak were your defenses, Jounin?" An Elder asked, bewildered.

Baki's face darkened a little but he shook his head as he gave every one of the room's occupants a serious look as he folded his hands behind his back. "The Sand Ninja Village was not weak in any way, Elder-sama. We are now because of the state we are in. But the Sand Ninja who died that day fifteen years ago, they were some of the best ninja we ever had. But the Akatsuki killed them like they were nothing." He shook his head again, looking around the room. "Do not underestimate the Akatsuki, ladies and gentlemen. They are not just random criminal ninja that you usually encounter. These ninja were the best of their villages that turned rogue. As you well know through Itachi Uchiha." He saw a few grimaces from most of the people in the room. Though the old man, Danzo narrowed his eyes dangerously at the name. "You must be careful into thinking that you can beat them just because of your numbers. Our numbers were great compared to theirs and yet they still killed our Kazekage, more than half of our Sand Ninja and are now ruling the Sand Village with fear and pain. They will do the very same thing to your village when they get bored."

"And that is why we will strike soon." Tsunade added, looking around the room. "Those people of the Sand Village could very well be our people in the future. It's best to stop them while we're ahead." She then looked at Gaara. "That is why, Gaara will become the new Kazekage. He's a strong willed, good hearted person who is so determined to free the village that don't even know him. And for his virtuous decision, I will support him."

Slowly, Jounin in the room began to nod their agreements. Some even spoke out, stating that they would support the decision as well. Including Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi. They both gave Gaara a nod and a smile of determination and support for this decision. He could only feel grateful for them and everyone else that supporting him. "I thank you all for this." Gaara said quietly, bowing his head to them before turning slightly away. "I will get started right away on weakening the Akatsuki's numbers. I will keep you updated on the situation."

And he almost made it out the door. That is until a Kunai came flying over his shoulder, hitting the door beside his head and slamming it closed.

"Hold it, Bloody bob!" came Anko's voice, making Gaara turn around and look over at her. She did not look amused that he was about to just leave immediately. She looked rather put out. "Running off when you just barely got back? That's not really fair on our part, kid."

Ibiki nodded, though he was smirking as he folded his arms over his chest. He was amused that Anko was keeping Gaara from going anywhere. "She's right, Gaara. You only just got back. It's not fair on your friends. You haven't seen them for three years. So I think you need to stick around just for a little while." He then grinned at the young red head. "Besides, you knocked me on my ass when I told you I didn't say or do what I should have done with my younger brother. And I certainly will do the same to you if you don't tell that special girl of yours what's in your heart."

Immediately, Gaara jerked his head towards the large Jounin and gave him a dark look though his face had a tinge of pink in his skin. He then turned sharply away, while a few others were chuckling with amusement. They seemed to realize that the new Kazekage might have had a thing for one of their kunoichi.

Tsunade just snorted as she folded her hands together and rest her chin on top of them. She just shook her head as she looked right at Gaara's back. "They both have a point, Lord Kazekage. Your friends have missed you for three years. The least you can do is stay for a couple of days. Besides, I think your new position calls for a celebration." She then held up a hand when Gaara turned back and looked as if he was going to argue. "A couple of days isn't going to hurt, Gaara. There's always a celebration for a new Kage, anyway. Besides, you need to spend time with your friends. Sakura has bugged the hell out of me these past years, trying to figure out how you were doing and where you went. Which, you should have told her the first place." She told him strictly.

Sighing, Gaara decided to give up. There was no way he'd win an argument with the Fifth Hokage anyway. "Very well, Lady Hokage." He told her wearily.

Tsunade just smirked as she pushed herself to her feet and then began making her way towards him. Everyone started to get ready to leave the room. They all figured that the meeting had just been adjourned. The Fifth Hokage just shook her head at Gaara as she headed towards the door, pausing to yank out the kunai that Anko had thrown into the wood. "Don't look so glum, Gaara. You might just find out later that this was the best choice." She told him. And for some reason, Gaara felt that she might have had a point.

That night, the celebration had been announced throughout the entire village. Everyone was excited either way. Mostly the Leaf Ninja. When the young Leaf Ninja heard that Gaara was to become Kazekage, they all grew excited. They couldn't believe that he was becoming a Kage. And the news had gone through the village quickly, of course. News traveled so fast through the Leaf Village.

So therefore, everyone was looking forward to the Celebration of the New Kazekage.

In a way, Gaara had wanted to put off the celebration. He didn't think it was necessary as it was. More or less, if there was going to be a celebration in his honor, he wanted Naruto to be there. But Tsunade wouldn't hear of it. And she even added that they could have another celebration after they defeated the Akatsuki. That way, she pointed out to Gaara, Naruto could be there.

The entire village was highly decorated for the celebration. There were lanterns hanging on lines throughout the entire the village and there was music playing all over. People were laughing and visiting with each other as they listened to the music. Most of the ladies in the village wore beautiful kimonos and dresses while the men just looked handsome in their best clothes. There were Leaf Ninja every where. Most of the celebration was taking place near the Administration building, under the watchful eyes of the Late Hokages. There, many of the Leaf Ninja were visiting with each other. They were all excited about Gaara becoming the Kazekage. Mostly the ninja of his class. It had come as a shock of course, but they all agreed that in his own way, Gaara would make an excellent Kage. The last to arrive at the little celebration, both Tsunade and Gaara arrived together, as to some sort of tradition. When they showed up, everyone stopped what they were doing and began to cheer for Gaara. It surprised the sand manipulator on how many people were supporting him. It made him feel a little happy that they were all with him in this. Now, if only Naruto was there at the celebration.

As Gaara visited with a few others, listening to Kankuro and Temari explaining to everyone of what they had been doing for the past three years, he turned away and looked up into the night sky. He felt a peace washing over him. He knew it was the calm before the storm. If only this moment could last. But he knew it wouldn't. He was about to wage war against the Akatsuki, who would be a big match for him. Maybe more a match for him. But he just had to do what he had to do.

"Hey, Gaara. Someone wants to talk to you."

The new Kazekage tilted his head towards his sister's voice before turning slightly to look at her. He ended up freezing though because she was not alone. Sakura was with her. And Sakura was wearing a very gorgeous red dress with a matching red ribbon in her hair, trailing down her back. She absolutely looked beautiful. It made Gaara just freeze completely just by seeing her looking so lovely.

And judging the sly smirk on his older sister's face, he knew she had planned this.

Sakura smiled softly at Gaara as she approached him with Temari and Ino. Several guys were staring with shock at the beautiful women as they moved towards the new Kazekage. A few actually looked a little jealous but no one really paid attention to them. Sakura just folded her hands behind her back as she moved to stand next to her former teammate. "Gaara! Congratulations on the new promotion! I think you'll make a great Kazekage!"

Gaara couldn't really say anything just yet as he looked her over but then he forced his eyes to Sakura's face and he tried to look casual. "Thank you, Sakura." He said quietly. "I'll do my best."

"Well, don't try too hard. You don't want to wear yourself out. I've seen Tsunade-shishou work and she sometimes gets too stressed out. Try not to do the same, okay?" Sakura asked smiling brightly at him.

There was a pause between them all before Temari stepped closer to Gaara and nudged his arm, making him look at her. She grinned at him before nodding to Sakura. "Gaara, didn't you have something you wanted to give to Sakura?" She asked, perking Sakura and Ino's attention a little. She ignored the dry stare Gaara gave her and grinned wickedly when he started blushing.

But with a low sigh, Gaara gave a nod. He knew very well what she was talking about. There had been something he brought back from the desert for Sakura. Something very special that he had been planning to bring back since he even learned about them. So carefully getting into his pocket, he pulled something out. His sea-foam colored eyes looked directly into Sakura's curious green ones before he held out his hand, revealing a very beautiful desert rose. The look on her face was pleasing though. Sakura looked so surprised to see it, yet such in awe. "This is for you." He murmured softly to her.

Sakura stared at the flower with awe before she slowly reached out and gently touched the glossy petals. She couldn't believe how beautiful it was. More or less that Gaara had brought it back for her, unscathed. "Gaara," She breathed softly. "It's….it's so beautiful! But…." She looked back into his eyes, still looking dazed at the present. "Where did you get this?"

"It's the Land of Wind's greatest treasure. It's called a Desert Rose." Gaara silently explained. "I retrieved it from an oasis where we stayed at. Temari has explained that it's good for medical terms. I want you to have it."

The pinkette smiled brightly as she looked gratefully into his eyes before looking back at the rose. "Gaara…..I….I don't know what to say!" She then shook her head vigorously before looking brightly into his eyes again. "Thank you! Thank you so much, Gaara! You didn't need to bring back a gift for me! I don't know what I could give back to you! What would you like? Anything at all! You name it!"

Gaara looked away, though he really wanted to tell her the truth of what he wanted. He wanted to tell her that he wanted her. But…..but there was only one thing holding him back. The fact that he was seen as a monster in the eyes of many and that he had tried to hurt her at one time. He could never forgive himself for what he did to her during the Chuunin Exams, even if she did. Plus the fact that she had been in love with Sasuke stopped him. He knew Kakashi had said that she didn't see Sasuke that way anymore, but there was such a good chance that there was someone else but him that she cared about. After all, he had been gone for nearly three years. There was no way it could be him. "I do not want anything. I just want you to take this flower and be happy." He told Sakura silently. Then he looked up at her as he rose the flower and gently placed it into her hair, much to her surprise.

Temari, however, was now fuming at him for not just coming out and telling Sakura. She knew very well about Gaara's feelings for the pinkette standing across from him.

Sakura just looked at him, rather breathless as she let Gaara put the flower into her hair. She felt like just hugging him but there was one thing holding her back. The fact that he was now Kazekage. "Thank you, Gaara. I'll treasure it." She said smiling softly at him.

Gaara looked at her softly before nodding and turning slightly away. He looked rather thoughtful as he turned away but then he looked at Temari. "Temari, I think I'm going to take my leave now. I want to get some rest for the night." He told her before nodding to Sakura again and leaving them.

Ino just fawned over the flower in Sakura's hair, looking impressed. "Wow! That flower is gorgeous, Sakura! I can't believe he brought that back for you." She said brightly. Sakura just smiled as she gently reached up and touched the flower's petals. She was just as awed as her best friend was.

"He didn't get that from the oasis, Sakura." Temari now spoke up dryly, getting surprised looks from the two. She was in a foul mood now that her younger brother once again was keeping his feelings to himself. She knew very well why he was holding back. But now, enough was enough. She was going to take matters into her own hands. If Gaara wasn't going to tell Sakura how he felt, she would tell Sakura how he felt. She turned her sharp green eyes onto Sakura, who drew back a little. "Sakura, he climbed a nearly 200 foot cliff just to get that desert rose! Just for you! He wanted to bring back one of the desert roses because he thought you would look beautiful with it in your hair. Though, in his opinion, you've always been beautiful." She just blurted out.

Both Sakura and Ino looked at her with surprise. They were astonished that she was telling Sakura this. "Wh-what?"

Kankuro soon joined his sister, looking dryly at the pinkette. He had been watching and listening to the entire thing and was just as sour as his sister was. "Sakura, Gaara is totally into you. He's just too naïve to tell you." He told her.

Sakura blinked several times in surprise as she listened to the two. She couldn't believe it. Was what they were saying was true? Was Gaara really…..was he really? "Gaara….he's…..into….."

"Yeah. He's in love with you, Sakura. But he's just afraid that you would never return his feelings." Temari told her, softly. "He blames himself for hurting you during the Chuunin Exams, when Shukaku went totally nuts on him. Plus, he still pictures himself as a monster because of the sand demon. He doesn't want to hurt you again. But Kankuro and I know that he would never hurt you. Not intentionally."

Sakura just stared at the two with shock before her face changed into a look of determination, yet there was a faint smile on her face. She shook her head as she backed away from them. "I'll be right back." She told them before rushing off, in the direction Gaara had went.

All three, Temari, Kankuro and Ino smiled slyly as they watched her go. They were soon joined by the other Konoha Leaf Ninja, watching as the pinkette hurried away from the party. Even Rock Lee was smiling, knowingly. In truth, he had wanted to be the one who won Sakura's heart. But then again, he had always known that Gaara had a thing for her much like how he and Naruto had. Glancing at one another, Temari and Shikamaru just smiled at one another before nodding. "It's about time someone did something." The lazy genius remarked. "Nice job, woman."

Silently, Gaara was making his way to the Konoha park, wanting to get a little quiet so to think to himself. He felt a dull ache in his heart as he thought about how he could never be with Sakura in that way. He had always cared about her, he knew that was obvious. But why in the world would she want to care about him in the way she had cared about Sasuke? He was a monster. A blood thirsty sand demon.

'Brat, you are such an idiot.' Shukaku growled at his host.

Gaara turned his head as if to give the demon a dry glare but then he looked forward again, his eyes full of sadness. "I will not let you hurt her again, Shukaku. Nor will I hurt her. She's been through too much as it is."

'Why in the world would I want to hurt her?! She's hot! I think she's perfect for us!' Shukaku remarked within his head.

The young Kazekage growled at the sand demon, too savagely. He refused to let the demon talk about Sakura that way. He even lashed out at the demon, making him growl right back at him but for some reason he didn't react. So with a little satisfaction, Gaara went to stand by the park's pond, his eyes staring into the clear water. It was right at that moment, he felt someone approaching him, so he turned his head only to freeze.

It was Sakura.

Sakura was hurrying towards him, looking somewhat rushed. She must have been running after him the entire way from the party. When she realized he was looking at her, she smiled and waved at him as she ran towards him. "Gaara! I need to….ahhhh!" She yelped when she tripped over her own feet and went flying right into Gaara, who was just as startled as she was when they went down.

Again, the sand had failed to catch them, much like what happened in the Hokage's office. So together, they went crashed to the grassy ground; with Sakura on top of Gaara.

Both were blushing furiously when they realized what kind of state they were in, the both of them almost as red as Gaara's hair. They stared at each other for a second before Sakura quickly leapt off of him, sitting on her heels and waving her hands in embarrassment. "Oh! I'm sorry, Gaara! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to knock you to the ground again! That is the second time I did that today!" She cried out, still blushing furiously.

Gaara pushed himself to a sitting position, his face still somewhat red as he looked away from her. In truth, he had enjoyed that but it was still embarrassing. "It's….it's all right, Sakura." He then pushed himself to his feet before offering his hand to his pink haired friend. "Are you hurt?"

Sakura paused as she looked up at him before her face softened and she took his hand, letting him pull her up. They both brushed their selves off, but then she looked right at Gaara, frowning slightly and folding her arms. "Gaara, there's something we got to talk about." She told him. Gaara looked at her but then looked away, figuring that it might have been about Sasuke. Sakura seemed to have guessed that because she shook her head as she reached up and took the desert flower out of her hair and held it up for him to see. "Temari and Kankuro told me the truth of where you got this. And why you got it."

Gaara blinked before looking at her with surprise. He stared at her, somewhat taken back but then he looked away again, fighting another blush, along with the thoughts of now killing his siblings.

"Gaara," Sakura said, now putting her hand onto his arm to make him turn back. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth? Why didn't you just tell me that you felt that way about me?"

There was a very long silence between the two as they just stared at each other. Gaara really didn't know what he could tell Sakura. He couldn't believe that Temari and Kankuro would just go out and tell her about how he felt about her. He swore he was going to make them pay for this. It was unusual though that Shukaku hadn't been cheering him on for their blood. He was actually being quiet for once.

"…" He hummed before looking away from Sakura, his eyes half way closed. "I don't want to hurt you again, Sakura. I am a monst…"

"You are not a monster, Gaara." Sakura said now sharply as she moved around him so that he was looking at her again. "Stop thinking like that about yourself! I don't think you're a monster! Neither does Naruto! And if this has anything to do with how I USED to feel about Sasuke, don't think like that! I don't like Sasuke anymore! He lost his chance when he hit me over the head and left me lying on a bench! Right after I did tell him that I loved him! You really think I'm going to give him a chance after that? And after he tried to kill Naruto at the Valley of the End?" She shook her head as she held onto his arm. "You're smarter than that, Gaara. Do you really think I'm that naïve?"

Gaara met her eyes, somewhat surprised that she was even saying stuff like that about Sasuke but then he shook his head. "No. You're not naïve." He nearly whispered. "Kakashi also told me that you weren't interested in Sasuke like that anymore. He said that there was someone else." He shook his head as he tried to turn away. "I don't want to get in that person's way, Sakura. You deserve someone who isn't like me. You deserve someone who can take care of you. Rock Lee, Kiba…whoever it is, they will take care of you. They are good men."

"Gaara," Sakura said, tightening her grip only a little on his arm and making him turn back to her. "The person I'm interested in isn't Lee, Kiba or even Shino. I don't even like Neji like that. They are great men. They are my friends, as they are yours."

"Then Naruto…" Gaara started.

Sakura shook her head as her face softened as she relaxed her grip on his arm. She understood where he was going with it but she wasn't going to let him finish. "Gaara, I love Naruto…..like a brother." She said softly. "But the one person I'm interested in is you."

Gaara blinked only once before looking at her with wide eyes. He wasn't exactly sure if he just heard her right. And even if he did, he could only ask….. "Me? Why…..why would you…..?"

The beautiful pink haired kunoichi shook her head slowly as she softened her grip on his arm, looking into his sea-foam eyes. "Gaara, you are a good person. A lot better than you think of yourself. Everyone sees that. That's why they've changed their minds about you. That is why they're supporting you to being Kazekage. We all know that you would do so much good being a leader like that." She breathed softly, glancing at the ground. "Three years ago, when you lost control over Shukaku and slammed me into a tree….." She held up a hand when Gaara grimaced, looking pained at that memory. "Gaara, let me finish. When you slammed me into that tree, I remembered something. Something that I had forgotten a long time ago. I've been wanting to tell you about it for a while. I was going to tell you about it after you got back from retrieving Naruto and Sasuke, but you went off and went training to the Land of Wind, so I had to wait." She met Gaara's sea foam eyes, looking so softly at him. "I remembered the day we first met. Do you remember it?"

Gaara stared into Sakura's eyes, very surprised that she was even mentioning that day but slowly he nodded. "Yes. I remember." He said quietly.

Sakura nodded right back as she looked softly into his eyes. She even managed the tiniest of soft smiles. "We were both six years old, playing all alone. All you wanted to do was play with the other boys and they treated you so badly. I remember watching them pushing you around and hurting you. I didn't like it. That's why I said anything. I couldn't stand watching them being mean to you." She laughed softly as if finding something funny. "And then they started making jabs at me and threatening to throw a rock at my big forehead." She blew her bangs out of her face, looking glumly upward but her soft smile returned. "Then you defended me. You tried to stop them from hurting me. But all they did was run away and call you a monster. I saw that pain in your eyes, Gaara. It was the same pain as I felt whenever someone made fun of me."

Gaara continued to look her right in the eyes but his face was a little softer now. "I couldn't stand it that they were hurting you. I didn't want them to put you through the same thing as I went through." He murmured softly.

Sakura just smiled and shook her head as she looked into his eyes. "Gaara, ever since that day you defended me, I did want to be your friend. I just….I just forgot after I became Ino's friend. I had been planning on approaching you right after you gave those flowers. I was even bringing you flowers in return." She laughed softly when Gaara looked bewildered to hear that. But the smile faded a little at the memory. "But some of the girls of my class caught up to me and started bullying me. They took the flowers from me and ruined them and made fun of me. That was when Ino showed up and made me feel better." She looked back into his eyes. "I'm sorry, Gaara. I meant to make friends with you. I swear it. If only I hadn't forgotten." She said, her eyes filling with tears. She lowered her head, squeezing her eyes tight to try and force back the tears. "Because I forgot, you got hurt and you were alone."

Softly, Gaara reached up and cupped her chin, making her lift her head again and open her eyes. He looked softly into her eyes. "It's all right. We're friends now, aren't we?" He murmured quietly.

Sakura smiled again as she reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek but then she shook her head. "I don't want to be friends anymore, Gaara." She continued to smile when he frowned, looking somewhat in pain. She just shook her head as she reached up with her hand to behind his head. "I want to be something a little more than that." She told him before bringing his head down towards her.

And for the first time in his life, he had been kissed.

Gaara was stunned as Sakura brought his head down to hers and pressed her lips against his own. He had never realized that she would do that with him. But even so, it made his heart just start fluttering as he relaxed a little. Sakura then pulled away, blushing furiously again and covered her mouth with her fingers as if embarrassed. She gave Gaara a apologetic look. "Sorry, Gaara. I didn't mean to go too fast. You probably didn't even want to…" She was saying.

But Gaara cut her off as he swooped down and captured her lips again with his own, his arms and the sand wrapping around her, bringing her closer to him. He felt her arms quickly wrap around his neck, keeping herself from falling down. He kept a hold of her as they kissed each other. He couldn't believe was taking this step but it was something he wanted. And more or less, he was surprised that it was Sakura who moved first. For the first time in his life, he felt truly loved. Especially when they pulled apart and looked into each other's eyes, smiling softly at each other.


	36. Chapter Thirty Six

Gaara stayed in the Hidden Leaf Village for nearly a month, while spending time with his friends and Sakura. He had been planning on just persuading Tsunade into letting him become Kazekage and just head back to the Sand Village to begin his campaign in freeing its people from the Akatsuki, but since a certain pink haired beauty decided to give him a chance in her personal life, he had decided to stay for a little bit.

Even though, he had only been planning to stay a week.

Eventually, the week turned into a month. Gaara found himself a little too preoccupied with his friends and Sakura. Mostly Sakura. After the night that he and Sakura kissed, eventually, some how, everyone else found out about it. Sakura had sworn that she didn't tell anyone about how they took a step up from their friendship. And she really hadn't. It was actually Temari and Ino's doing. They had followed Sakura to the park and watched the whole scene just play out. Eventually, they had to tell someone about it.

Therefore, the entire village knew about Gaara and Sakura's new relationship.

Of course, no one really cared. They were actually a little excited about it. Well, most of the ninja were anyway. They thought that Sakura and Gaara would make a nice couple. Some of the civilians weren't too sure. They were actually a little worried about Sakura. There were rumors going around saying that Gaara actually was forcing Sakura into the relationship. They all believed he was still some kind of monster. Those rumors were immediately diminished though by the other Ninja. They didn't like the fact that people were still calling their friend a dangerous monster.

During Gaara's month stay, he went on a few simple missions with the others or trained with them. It was definitely helping with him spending time with everyone. As for Baki, he was spending his time getting to know the Leaf Jounin. He was actually becoming a little popular with some of them. He even showed them some of his skills in a sparring match. To say the least, everyone was pretty impressed with him. The Jounin that seemed to have grown the closest with Baki was Asuma Saturobi, though. They were both very intelligent and had some interesting strategies to share with one another.

However, as much as Gaara enjoyed spending time with Sakura and doing things with her, like sitting in the park by the pond and cloud watching with her, he still couldn't help but worry too much about the Sand Village. He knew he couldn't just ignore it. The people there were suffering while he was enjoying Sakura's company. And now that he was the new Kazekage, he had to take action. There would be more time later to spend with Sakura after he finished freeing the village from the Akatsuki.

So after the month of vacation or whatever, Gaara went to Tsunade's office to announce that he would be leaving.

Of course, Sakura just had to be there when he did. He hadn't wanted her to find out just yet that he would be leaving with Baki, Kankuro and Temari. But with a sigh, he told Tsunade, with Sakura there, of his plans.

It was dead silent for a very long time as they all just stared at him with surprise. Sakura was actually staring at him with alarm as she attempted to read some of the medical scrolls that Tsunade assigned to her. Her mouth fell open the very second that the words were out of Gaara's mouth. She looked as if he was playing a joke on her.

But after a moment, Tsunade sighed as she sank down in her chair and folded her hands in front of her. "You're worried about the people of Sunagakure, aren't you?" She received a nod from Gaara and she returned it to him. She faintly smiled at the young Kazekage, looking approvingly at him. "I expected much. I wouldn't blame you. You're their new leader, Gaara. You're suppose to be worried about them. Especially at a time like this." She bobbed her head again, glancing side wards at a horrified looking Sakura but then turned her gaze back onto Gaara, looking serious again. "Gaara, when will you begin the attack on the Akatsuki?"

Gaara merely glanced over at Sakura before turning his eyes away again. He felt somewhat guilty for leaving like this. Even after they had just began a relationship. But he knew that he needed to do this. People were suffering while he was enjoying himself. It wasn't fair of him if he didn't do something right away. "I will approach the Akatsuki two weeks, maybe three after return to Suna. I want to try and convince many of the Elders and Sand Ninja to join my cause first before I do anything to them." His eyes flickered back to Tsunade's face, looking very serious. "As you said before, I cannot gain the trust of the Sand Ninja if they do not know me. I will let them get to know me then within the weeks. I will gain their trust. I will probably speak to the Sand Elders as well. Chiyo-sama and Ebizu-sama will be expecting me soon with your answer."

"And what about Naruto? From what I've heard, he's going to be returning any time soon from his training. Don't you want to wait for him to get back?" Tsunade asked, quietly.

Gaara's lips curved only a little and he bobbed his head. "I would like to wait for him, Lady Hokage. But I'm afraid I cannot. The people of Sunagakure need my help right now. And I cannot allow them to suffer any longer. If Naruto shall return any time soon, I will require his help. If you will allow it. When the time comes that I need assistance, I will call for it." He told her.

Tsunade slowly nodded as she took in the information. She understood what he meant immediately. He wanted to try and do it on his own first before asking for help. And in a way, she had to respect him for that. She knew that he was stepping onto dangerous grounds by trying to do it by himself but if he was going to be the leader he was trying to be, he needed to take the risks. And if he did need assistance, she was going to make sure that the Leaf Village answered the call. "Very well. We will stand by until you call. When will you leave?" She asked, knowing very well that Sakura was now staring accusingly at her back.

Gaara glanced over at Sakura, who was giving him a look as if asking him if he was really serious. But with a shake of his head, he looked back at Tsunade. "Today. The sooner I get back to Sunagakure, the better. That way, I will have more time to plan." He told the Fifth.

"Very well. I will have a few Leaf Ninja go with you to the border, just make sure that nothing gets in your way. But," Tsunade said lowering her hands and rising to her feet. She paused to glance over at Sakura again who now looked forlorn. "I suggest you take the time to say your goodbyes though, Gaara. It might be a while before you see them again." She told the young red head before she turned and left the room.

There was a long silence as Gaara and Sakura stood facing each other. The young red head met her eyes, looking somewhat sorry for not telling her. Sakura, however, just frowned at him before turning her head away. "I was going to tell you, Sakura." Gaara said quietly.

"When, Gaara? At the last minute?" Sakura asked, meeting his eyes again, though she didn't look happy.

Gaara shook his head as he turned away with a sigh on his breath. He knew that he had messed up already. He knew he should have told her a while ago. But he hadn't. "No. I was going to tell you last night. But….." He turned his eyes back onto her. "Sakura, I have to go to the Sand Village. I have to stop this. The Akatsuki are killing people. My mother's people. Temari and Kankuro's people. I have to stop them. If I don't, people will keep on dying, and this village will be next. The Akatsuki will come after Naruto next. I have to make sure that doesn't happen." He told her quietly.

Sakura sighed as she lowered her head before she moved towards him and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face into his shoulder, not saying anything for a moment. She was just quietly thinking to herself. But after a moment, she lift her head and looked up into his teal eyes. "Then I want to help you. I want to come with you to free your village." She told him.

Gaara breathed in deeply before shaking his head as he rest his hands onto her shoulder. He looked almost surprised that she would say that. But then again, he should have expected it. "No. I can't let you come with me."

Sakura now frowned at him seriously. "And why not?" She demanded.

Gaara shook his head as he looked her right into the eyes. He wasn't sure what to tell her but he knew that if she would come, he would worry about her the entire time. "Sakura, I can't let you come. Not now. If I bring you with me, I will only worry about you and not be able to concentrate on the task at hand. And if the Akatsuki ever found out what you mean to me, they will use you against me. Please, Sakura." He said quietly. "Just wait till Naruto gets back. I swear when I need help, I will call for you."

There was a long silence between the young couple before Sakura slowly nodded as she looked directly at his chest. She couldn't meet his eyes just yet. But finally she did, faintly smiling.

"You are such a good person, Gaara. I know that you will free the Sand Village from the Akatsuki. You're strong and brave and you have a good heart right here." She poked him in the chest over his heart. Then smiling, she stood on her tippy toes to kiss him.

Gaara returned the kiss with such a soft look on his face before he rest his head against hers. He couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten in his life. He had a great best friend, a girl that he fell in love who loved him back, a pair of interesting siblings. Eventually he had parents but the Akatsuki took that away. Just as they could still take everything he had away from him. His face darkened at the thought and it only drove him closer and closer to his goal of defeating them. He would make sure that they would never ever hurt Sakura or Naruto, or anyone else. He would die before that ever happened. And if he was lucky, he wouldn't.

Later in the day, Gaara had said all of his goodbyes to everyone this time. They were all now seeing him and his Sand team off. Most of the Shinobi had come. Team Gai, Team Kurenai, Team Asuma. Even most of the Jounin. Anko, of course, had tried to throw a kunai at Gaara, which he deflected with his sand and a smirk on his face. He was finding himself growing fond of her wild and dangerous ways. She was definitely a one of a kind person. He was finding himself fond of Ibiki too. The Jounin whom had once hated him had actually given him a gift before he left. A new set of steel kunai for him to use and a pick lock set. Gaara felt as if Ibiki had just become an uncle to him.

"Well, Lord Kazekage," Tsunade said as she faced Gaara and his team. Her hands were folded in front of her while she kept her head up high. "We will be expecting your call soon. Don't you start this war against the Akatsuki without us, all right? I know you want to do this on your own, but you must trust us."

Gaara dipped his head down into a nod. He figured she might be right. If the Akatsuki were as dangerous as Baki said, and as he realized, himself, he would need the help of the Leaf Village. "Very well, Lady Hokage. I will call on you and the Leaf Village when the time comes." He paused for a second. "When Naruto returns…."

"I understand, Gaara." Tsunade said smiling softly at him. "I will tell him you said hello and that you will be needing him soon. I really wish you would stay a little longer, but I understand why you can't. I may understand more than you may realize. Just be careful, all right?"

Gaara only nodded before he turned his eyes onto Sakura. He wasn't the only one who was watching her. A few of the others glanced over at her, knowing very well that she was a little upset about Gaara's decision to leave the village to save his own. They knew how she felt. In a way, they were just as concerned as she was. They felt as if Gaara might just as well as be walking to a death trap. But they knew very well that he was following his heart. He was doing what he believed he needed to do. So therefore, they couldn't try and talk him out of it. It wouldn't work even if they did.

There was a long silence before Sakura moved forward quickly and threw her arms around him, tears filling her eyes. She really did not want him to go. Not without her or Naruto or anyone else. "Gaara….please just wait for us! Don't go yet! Just wait till Naruto gets back!" She begged into his chest.

The young red head just sighed as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him but he could only shake his head. "I can't, Sakura. I told you why I can't. I have to go." He murmured quietly to her.

Sakura shared a few tears for a moment before she pulled away and pulled him into a kiss. She didn't care if anyone was watching at all. She wanted to savor this moment while it lasted. She heard Kiba wolf whistle but then get his head slapped by both Hinata and Ino. They knew this wasn't the time for his crude behavior right now. It was too intense at the moment and it might set Gaara off a little. After a moment, Sakura pulled away and pressed her forehead against Gaara's, who closed his eyes, while still holding onto her. "Just please….please, Gaara. Be careful. Don't do anything dangerous until we get there. Please, come back to me." She begged him silently.

"I promise." Gaara whispered into her hair. "I will free my village and I will come back to you. Then together, you, me and Naruto will go find Sasuke and bring him back to the village. I swear it."

Smiling tearfully, Sakura pulled away and looked into Gaara's eyes. She felt truth within his words and she believed him. So applying another kiss to his lips, she pulled away and stepped back. "I will hold you to that, Gaara. And you better stay safe." She warned him, trying to lighten the mood. Her eyes flickered over to a smiling pair of Sand Ninja siblings. "Take care of him for me, guys." She told Temari and Kankuro.

Both Sand Siblings nodded as they turned slightly away with Baki. "We swear it, Sakura. We will make sure that Gaara comes back safely." The Puppet Master told her.

With another longing look at Sakura, Gaara turned away and started walking down the main road. He was very aware that Anko, Ibiki and a few other Leaf Ninja were following, seeing that they were the ones that Tsunade asked to escort him and the Sand Team to the borders. But as they walked away, Tsunade felt a wave of dread fall over her. It was like a cloud just rolled over her head and it began to rain on her. She frowned as she watched Gaara start running with the others, wanting to hurry back to the Sand Village. She knew that something was not right though. 'Saturobi-senpai, Minato-san, watch over him. Make sure he stays safe.' She thought. Her eyes flickered to her saddened student, Sakura and the others who watched with the same sorrow. 'For his own and their sake.'

A week later, Naruto and Jiraiya returned to the Hidden Leaf Village.

It only took two days to get back to the Land of Wind and another day to rush back to the Sand Village. By that time, Gaara, Baki, Temari and Kankuro had taken on guises of desert traders. They had changed their appearances a little bit and donned desert cloaks. When they reached the Sand Village, they immediately took refuge into Baki's old apartment, knowing that it would be safer there for them.

Then Baki set off to find the Elders, Chiyo and Ebizu.

Gaara had wanted to speak to them first before he even tried to speak to the rest of the Elders. He only hoped that the elders wouldn't try and turn him into the Akatsuki. If that happened, he was afraid that his plan of a surprise attack would be ruined.

It wasn't until after dusk did Baki return with the two Elder siblings. So far, everything was going according to plan. And the siblings sure were happy to see Gaara. They both bowed their heads in respect to him, though it was a little surprising for Chiyo's case. She hardly ever was respectful to anyone. But then again, the very first thing out of her mouth after she straightened was, "Did you get Slug-girl's blessing?"

With a faint smile, Gaara pulled out a message scroll from Tsunade and handed it to Chiyo. On the scroll, it was written from Tsunade to explain that everyone in the Leaf Village supported Gaara as the new Kazekage. She even explained that when the time came, the Hidden Leaf Village would answer the call to help save the Hidden Sand Village from the Akatsuki. The news seemed to please Chiyo and Ebizu though. They both shared twin smiles before looking at Gaara and nodding their approval.

"You have done well then, young Shukaku." Chiyo stated, ignoring the warning look that Gaara sent her. "Then I must say, you will be the new Kazekage. If Tsunade-baka really does support you then, I will have to. You have my blessing."

"As mine." Ebizu added, bowing his head.

Baki frowned as he stood against the wall, watching the pair carefully. He knew very well that Gaara needed more than these two's blessings, even if they were the Eldest of the Elders. "What about the other Elders? They will need to give Gaara their support too." He remarked. "And I fully am aware that they don't like him too well."

Chiyo snorted as she turned her aged eyes onto the Sand Jounin. She obviously had something crude to say about that. "The younger Elders can kiss my wrinkly ass for all I care." She remarked.

Kankuro started choking on his laughter, though in a way he was disgusted at the same time.

Gaara's lips curved upward though. He couldn't help but feel amused by her remark. It wasn't every day that he heard crude things come out of an Elder's mouth. It was actually kind of funny. He really hoped that someday he could introduce Chiyo to the Leaf Elder, Danzo. It would almost be entirely hilarious of the interaction between the two. But instead, he looked to Baki, serious again. "We will need to gather all of the Elders and what Sand Ninja that you trust, Baki. I think it's time to set our plans in motion immediately." He told him. He looked to Temari next. "Temari, I will need you to return to the Leaf Village, taking a message to Tsunade that we have arrived and are preparing the attack. If she wishes, she may start sending Leaf Ninja to join our campaign. The sooner we approach the Akatsuki with the matter, the better."

Both Baki and Temari nodded their understanding. They both knew that he had a point. And in Temari's opinion, it was a smart move to call for Tsunade again. It would only mean backup was on the way. "I'll set off first thing in the morning, Gaara. Maybe very early, before dawn. That way, no one will notice me sneaking out." She told him.

Gaara nodded his approval. He then looked to Baki, who was already moving to the door with the two Elders. They seemed have to come to an agreement already about what to do. So he would leave them to do what they needed. All he need to do was focus on how to convince the Elders to join his cause. Along with the Sand Ninja.

It was very late when Baki and the Elders returned. At that point, the younger Elders didn't have a clue who they were coming to meet. And Chiyo had told him that. She had sent a message beforehand and told him that they hadn't told the elders for a good reason. They wanted two; A) Surprise them and B) If they did tell them that they were going to meet the Shukaku Carrier, they might as well just go right up to the Akatsuki and tell them that he was back. So when they came piling into Baki's large apartment, they became very aware that they weren't alone. Especially when the lights were all out, with exception of a fire lit in the fireplace. The Elders immediately tensed up and looked around, looking ready to bolt already. And when the saw the spook of a young man standing in the middle of the room, they turned to dash out of the apartment. But they didn't get very far for a wall of sand was now blocking their escape.

"What is the meaning of this?!" One Elder demanded, looking terrified. His eyes, like the others, were searching for the answers in Baki and the Elder Siblings' blank faces.

Chiyo shook her ancient head as she folded his hands in front of her while standing right next to Ebizu, who also folded his hands. Baki, however, bowed his head towards Gaara, while motioning for the Elders to move further into the room. "Elders-senpai, allow me introduce you to the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand. He has kindly asked for presence to discuss a certain matter dealing with the Hidden Sand Village." He explained quietly.

The Elders looked somewhat flabbergasted, though they didn't know who Gaara really was. They were just flustered about the title that Baki had just given the young man before them. One of the oldest Elders frowned before giving Baki a look. "The Fifth Kazekage?! You cannot be serious! We already have a Kazekage, Baki! And who does this boy think he is to be claiming Kazekage without our approval?!"

"This boy, who happens to be a young man," Kankuro said dryly as he stepped out of the shadows and startled the Elders. "This is Gaara, the youngest son of the Fourth Kazekage. And he claims to be the new Kazekage because it is his right! Sasori is NOT our Kazekage, old man."

The news of this being the Fourth's youngest son astounded the Elders to complete stunned silence. Then silently, Baki explained to the Elders of who Gaara was and where he had been for the past nearly decade. He told them that Gaara had grown up as a Leaf Ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village and of how he learned that he was the son of the former Kazekage. He also explained of what he had been through his entire life before telling them why he was back in the Hidden Sand Village. By the end of it, the Elders completely understood of who Gaara was and what he was doing there. But it didn't mean they were happy.

"So, the Shukaku carrier is still alive after all of this time." One of the Elders said in a very dry way. But then he shook his head as he folded his hands behind his back and gave Gaara a very dry stare. "And pray why should we support you, Lord Gaara? What makes you think we will allow to become Kazekage and even help you stand against the Akatsuki? By rights, we should hand you over to them right now! That way the village won't have to suffer anymore!"

Kankuro growled at him and even started forward as if to start a fight with the Elder but Gaara held up a hand and planted it against his chest to keep him back. The young Kazekage merely shook his head at him before turning his eerie sea-foam eyes back onto the Elder, narrowing them a little. "With the power of Shukaku, the Hidden Leaf Village and maybe even the Power of the Nine Tailed Fox on your side, the Akatsuki will be defeated. We will stop the terror they have been causing on the Sand Village and will stop them from terrorizing the other villages. With or without your support, I will be leading a campaign against the Akatsuki. The terror they have caused will stop now." He said seriously, almost too seriously.

Even Kankuro had to shudder.

"We will not follow someone we don't trust, Lord Gaara." Another Elder said dryly. "And what makes you think we won't go to the Akatsuki right now to deliver you to them."

Gaara turned slightly away, not taking his eyes off of the Elder who said that. In truth, he had been expecting the difficulty the Elders might cause. He had expected all of it. But with a cool smile on his face, he glanced to Chiyo, who moved forward now. The old woman gave the other Elders a very sinister smile. "You do that, and you will deal with me, young welp." Her words stunned the other Elders but she chose to ignore the surprised looks she got from them. "I give this young man my full support and I expect the rest of you to do the same. He's risking his very life to saving ours! He's the One Tailed Beast Carrier! The one the Akatsuki wants and he's here facing them head on!"

Ebizu nodded his ancient head. "As the oldest Elders, we grant the Leadership to Gaara of the Sand. He's rightfully deserved it, young ones. And if you try to let the Akatsuki know he's here…..Kami be with you." He warned them.

"Bu-But…" one very astonished Elder said looking at the pair of siblings with shock. "The Kazekage, Sasori…!"

Chiyo shook her head as she narrowed her old eyes onto the man who said that. "My grandson is not Kazekage, no matter how much he says he is. We have not gave him our support. And we won't." She told them.

Gaara slowly nodded he moved only a tad bit closer to the Elders, who all grew tense. But he didn't take offense in it at all. He just gave them all a soft but authorative look as he glanced around at all of them. "I know very well that you do not trust me because of Shukaku. He has caused the Land of Wind much fear and pain in the past. But no more. He will use his power to protect you from now on. He will never cause you to fear him again." He said with much determination.

The oldest of the young Elders shook his head as he looked Gaara right into the eyes. He still didn't believe the young red head. "How can you promise us that, Lord Gaara? The Shukaku is a blood thirsty beast. He would kill us the minute we turned our backs on him. Or you, for that matter. How can we trust you to keep the promise when Shukaku has done serious things to this village already?" He asked him. Many of the other Elders nodded in agreement to his question. They were all asking the very same thing.

But Gaara never took offense to his words at all. Instead, he faintly smiled before closing his dark ringed eyes and tilting his head to the side. 'Shukaku.' He thought to the sand demon.

'Yeah, yeah. I get what you want. Fine.' The demon growled at him before pushing forward a little.

The sand gourd on Gaara's back suddenly began to shift and change, startling everyone in the room. Even Baki and Kankuro grew very tense as they watched Gaara started to change himself. The sand skin on his face cracked a little and he winced as half of his face changed into Shukaku's. The sand demon was only half way in control and Gaara was letting him, though it did cause a little discomfort. But then Gaara opened his eyes, revealing that one of them belonged to the demon, himself, while the sand gourd had changed into Shukaku's tail.

"The human brat speaks truth, you weak humans." Shukaku growled through Gaara's lips. "As much as I would love to bathe in your hot blood, the boy is in control. He calls the shots, got it? If he wants me to protect the whole lot of you weak humans, then I will do as he asks! And if you have to question him anymore," The sand demon grinned almost evilly. "I don't think you'll want to know what would happen."

"Shukaku, stop threatening them. It's not helping." Gaara spoke dryly before he groaned in pain as he gained control over Shukaku again and returning to his normal state. He reached up and rubbed his forehead before opening his eyes and looking directly at the elders. "As you can see, I have gained control over Shukaku. It is no trick for you would know that it's impossible to gain control like that. But I have." His hand lowered to his side. "And I will die before any of the village suffers again because of the Akatsuki, or Shukaku. Shukaku knows what would happen if he threatened this village." He told them.

There was a long silence as everyone just stared at Gaara, almost too stunned to say anything. But then after a long moment, the Elders glanced at one another. They seemed to be having a silent conversation between of them. Some were shaking their heads and some were nodding.

But then after a moment, they all looked back at Gaara before bowing down to their knees to him. "Kazekage-sama." They all spoke in unison. "We give you our blessing."

Gaara's lips curved into a soft smile, as did the rest. He nodded in satisfaction as he moved a few feet closer to the Elders and offered his hand of friendship to them. The Elders looked surprised that he was doing so but then they all smiled and stood up around him. "The Leaf Village must have done some wonders on you, Kazekage-sama. We were afraid that you might have been cold and full of hatred because of what we did to you. Sealing the Shukaku inside of you and trying to use you into a weapon of war." One Elder told him. "But I can see that we were all wrong. You are kinder than your father ever was. I don't know who trained you all these years, or raised you, but I believe that all of us are in his debt for it."

"Jiraiya and Kakashi would be glad to hear of that." Gaara remarked before he looked out the window. "Within two weeks, we will begin the charge against the Akatsuki. In that time, I will need everyone's cooperation and silence to gain control over the Sand Ninja. I will need everyone's help to defeat the Akatsuki. Can I count on each one of you?" He asked quietly. Slowly, one by one, the Elders and Baki nodded.

And through the week, the silent campaign began.

For days after the truce between the Gaara and the Elders, Baki and the Elders spent time moving throughout the entire village, approaching trustworthy Sand Ninja and conversing with them about joining the campaign. Many of them were surprised that Baki was back. They had heard about his leaving the Village, but hadn't really expected him to come back. Especially coming back with Gaara of the Sand as the Kazekage. Even some of the Sand Ninja that had been apart of the Invasion against the Leaf Village were surprised. They kept his arrival in the Sand Village quiet though. Baki only chose the Sand Ninja he knew that would be trust worthy to know about Gaara's presence.

And those he told immediately went to see Gaara their selves. They were all very surprised to see him. But after hearing that the Sand Elders trusted him, they decided to throw in their loyalty to the young Kazekage. They silently told him that they would stand with him against the Akatsuki. Gaara was say to the least pleased with how every thing was going his way. But there were times he started to grow bored because he always had to stay in Baki's apartment to avoid being seen by the Akatsuki or their agents. He was starting to get very restless from having to wait for the two weeks time before the surprise attack.

Eventually, he grew too bored and went out late one evening. He had left the house without alerting Baki and Kankuro, which he knew wasn't smart. But he was getting tired of just sitting around and doing nothing. So it was time to take a midnight walk while everyone was asleep.

Gaara, of course, made sure to hid his face within his hood and chose to walk carefully in the shadows. It had been a long time since he had a night stroll within the Sand Village. He wondered how much it had changed, if it had at all as he walked through the darkened streets. He even took to looking through a few windows. He smiled faintly as he saw the old baker making the new batch of bread for the next day.

But then as he went, something changed that he did not expect.

As Gaara walked through the dark allies, he halted and hid against the dark wall when he heard a single sound from ahead. He frowned as he looked ahead, being very cautious. He did not want to run into an Akatsuki right now. It would only speed things up before the Leaf Ninja could get there to back him up. But the young Kazekage was surprised to find that it was no Akatsuki, nor an agent of Akatsuki.

To his surprise, he found the young boy he remembered helping nearly two years ago, Chiquoi.

The young boy was huddled in a dark corner on a crate, crying a little as he buried his head into his arms. He was older, of course. And he sure had grown through the few years. He was a little taller than Gaara remembered. He wore shabby cloths though and his hair was a little longer. But as Gaara could see, he was bruised and cut up a little. He had been in a fight, no doubt.

It made Gaara grit his teeth to think that he had gotten beaten up by a bunch of bullying Sand Ninja. He swore he was going to make those ninja pay for bullying this boy once again. He would not allow it again if he won this war.

For a long moment, Gaara watched the boy cry in the shadows. He had almost decided to just turn and leave so that the boy would be alone. But then a flash of a memory crossed his mind, reminding him of how he had been alone when someone bullied him and he how much he had hated it. So with a soft look on his face, the young leader moved silently towards Quoi, watching him carefully. The boy didn't even notice him approaching until he was right there.

Quoi looked up suddenly and yelped when he saw someone standing over him. He almost toppled off the crates and hit the ground. But to his surprise, something caught him and kept him from falling. He was surprised to find that it was sand holding him up. Terrified, he looked up at Gaara, who watched him with soft eyes. "Wh-who are you?" He whimpered.

Gaara was quiet for a moment before he reached over, pausing once as the boy flinched away from him but then with a soft sigh, he reached over and planted his hand on Quoi's head. "Don't be afraid of me, Quoi. I won't hurt you like those who did." He received a very surprised look from the boy. He didn't blame him at all for looking surprised. He had just said his name without the boy even knowing his own. "I'm a friend." He said quietly.

"A….a…friend?" Quoi whimpered but cringed a little as Gaara looked right into his eyes. "But….." His eyes the lit up as he studied Gaara's face. He seemed to recognize him now. "Hey…..I know you. I saw you two years ago."

Gaara faintly smiled at him but nodded. He remembered that day as well. It had been the last day he stopped visiting the Sand Village. He had stopped Sand Ninja from beating up on the boy and causing him serious harm. "Yes." He then looked Quoi over, noting all of his injuries. It made his eyes darken a little before he began using his and to lap up the blood all over him. It sure made a grumpy sand demon happy to get a little blood, but didn't cause him to throw a bloodthirsty fit. "Are you all right, Quoi? Who did this to you?"

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" Quoi asked, frowning before wincing at some of the wounds.

Gaara gave him a very soft look as he decided to sit down next to him and began tending to his wounds. He pulled out a few bandages from his gourd and began cleaning the cuts and bruises. "A friend told me. A Sand Ninja named Baki told me about you when I asked him. He's told me a little about you. And he's told me that you tend to get yourself into trouble." He tilted his head to the side. "My name is Gaara." He then added quietly. "Why did the Sand Ninja beat on you again?"

Quoi stared up at him in surprise before he looked sadly away. He was quiet for a long minute before shaking his head as tears began to flood his eyes and roll down his cheeks. "Why does it matter to you?! Why do you care?! You might know my name but you don't know me!" He said a little loudly. "You don't know what I've been through! So why should I tell you anything?!"

It only reminded Gaara of the boy, Inari, from the Land of Waves.

"You'd be surprised, Quoi." The young Kazekage stated, surprising the boy again. He then looked up at the night sky. "You remind me of myself. I grew up being bullied by others and picked on. I was even beaten on a few times by others. And I lived alone, believing no one cared about me." He then turned his teal eyes back onto Quoi, who looked stunned. "But I learned something. I was never alone as I thought I was. There was always someone who shared my pain and suffering. As I share yours." He told him gently.

Quoi stared up at him in mild awe before he lowered his head and closed his eyes to squeeze out a few tears. He was quiet for a minute before turning his head away. "…." He hummed then sighed. "I'm more alone than you think. I used to have my father. But….but now he's left me too."

Gaara blinked in surprised before looking wide eyed at the boy next to him. He couldn't believe the boy just said that. His memory immediately raced back to the memory of the father and this boy one fateful night. Did Quoi just tell him…..?

It struck a dull pain in Gaara's heart as he thought about what the boy just told him. "Your father….he's dead?" He asked in surprised.

"Yes." Quoi said, his voice trembling with pain and emotion. "That bastard we call Kazekage had him killed for standing against him! Father went to him to demand that he do something about the Sand Ninja to stop beating on me! He…..Sasori killed him himself for making demands against him!" he burst into tears again before throwing himself against Gaara, crying into his shoulder. "My father is gone! I am alone!" He cried.

Gaara could not help but wrap his arms around this boy and feel sadness swelling up inside of him as he thought about what Sasori had done. It only made his hatred for the fake Kazekage stronger. He gritted his teeth while sand began to swirl around him and Quoi. He swore he was going to kill Sasori with his bare hands for what he had done. He knew from what Baki said, Quoi had no mother because of Sasori. And now, he had no father. Sasori had taken away his family. Just like he had taken away Gaara's. Though Gaara had a brother and a sister to care for him, Quoi had no one. It just boiled Gaara's blood to think of what Sasori had done to this boy.

"I will make him pay then." The young Kazekage growled between his teeth, making Quoi pull away with a tear stained face and look up at him with surprise. "I will make Sasori pay for everything he's done to you, Quoi. I will kill him myself for the pain he's inflicted upon you." He swore to the young boy.

There was a long pause as Quoi looked into Gaara's eyes, noting how hard they had gotten. And yet, as hard as they had gotten, he saw softness. He saw how kind this Ninja really was. It touched the boy more than the red head knew. Quoi immediately knew that Gaara meant what he said. He was going to kill Sasori for him. He was going to avenge his father and mother's death. It made a faint smile appear on Quoi's face as he felt relief that he met this man. "Thank you." He murmured softly.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Looks like you've finally come back, un?"

At the sound of that voice, Gaara's head whirled around and he glared at the owner of that voice. He knew it too well from meeting the owner years ago. His grip on Quoi only tightened as he glared hatefully at the Akatsuki member, Deidara who was smirking at him and Quoi.


	37. Chapter Thirty Seven

The very minute that he woke up and didn't find his little brother in Baki's apartment, Kankuro grew both worried and agitated. He just wished that for once, Gaara would just stay put and not take off whenever he felt like it. It really got annoying when he did that. Waaaay too annoying. But with a groan, Kankuro went over to the sink to get himself a drink of water, like he had been doing the minute he woke up. Once he had it, he went to the window to peer out into the night and wonder where in the world Gaara had gone.

The very second he looked outside was the second that an explosion racked the entire village and a ball of flames rose into the sky.

Kankuro yelped in surprise and dropped the glass, letting it shatter against the ground as he looked wide eyed outside. He was stunned nonetheless. He could only wonder what was going on. But then a feeling of dread washed over him as he swore loudly. Somehow, he knew that the explosion involved Gaara. "BAKI! GET UP! GAARA'S IN TROUBLE!" He bellowed as he bolted back into the room where he was staying to get his puppets. He was very aware that Baki had started swearing himself and was attempting to wrestle himself out of his bed.

And in truth, Kankuro could never be more right.

Not more than ten minutes before the explosions even began, Gaara had stood up and was shielding Quoi behind him. He even had sand already swirling around them, looking ready to lash out at the clay bomber if he meant to bring trouble. But then again, this was an Akatsuki. Of course he meant to bring trouble. His eyes narrowed dangerously, the young red head backed up a little trying to keep Quoi from being seen by Deidara, though the blonde knew he was there.

Deidara smirked dangerously as he slowly took a few steps towards the red head, looking directly into his eyes. "Well, you're here. Just like Zetsu said." He remarked reaching up and taking the large flat rice hat off his head. "Looks like you just made my job a little easier, un?" He stated.

Gaara narrowed his eyes dangerously at the blonde Akatsuki but then straightened and removed the traveler's cloak. There was no was no need to wearing it anymore now that he had been found out. He just tossed it to the side, giving Deidara a very dangerous look. "Is that so?" He said coldly before tilting his head towards Quoi. He knew that the child would be in harm's way if he stayed any longer. He had to get out of there before the obvious fight broke out. "Quoi," Gaara said quietly getting the nervous boy's attention. "You need to get away right now. Go home and stay there."

Quoi looked at him, terrified but he slowly shook his head as he looked worriedly at his somewhat new friend. "B-but…"

"Quoi, you will get hurt if you stay here." Gaara told him seriously as he turned his eyes back onto a smirking Deidara. The Akatsuki was now looking at the boy with curious amusement and it no doubt meant that he was planning something to do with the boy. Probably distract Gaara by hurting him. Gaara knew he could not allow that to happen. He knew that if Deidara tried to hurt the boy, he would be unable to concentrate. "Go home!" The young Kazekage now barked at him. He knew he was being a little harsh but he needed to protect the boy from the Akatsuki. The young boy flinched at his tone but he immediately turned and bolted down the alley way, away from the fight. He had only glanced back once before he was gone.

Deidara, however, just smirked as he watched the boy taking off. "Geez, Gaara. You're not very nice, are you? Snapping at a kid that age like that? I won't be surprised if he never wants to hang out with you again."

Gaara gave him a very dark glare as he let sand swirl around him. He was not going to be drawn into a conversation with this guy. Especially about the way he just treated Quoi. He knew very well if the boy had stayed, he'd gotten seriously hurt. Or Deidara could have used him to distract him while fighting him. He knew very well that a fight was going to break out any minute. So instead, he just folded his arms and gave the clay bomber a very serious look.

Deidara knew instantly that the red head meant business because he smirked and crossed his arms in front of him, while letting the strange mouths in his palms begin working. "Well, since you're here, might as well as capture you and take you to the Headquarters. You ready to get that One Tailed demon yanked out of you?" He asked grinning. "Once we get the Shukaku, it's your pal, the foxboy next."

Gaara didn't reply.

Instead, his face darkened and the sand lashed out at the blonde. He was going to end this right now. His plans of a secret attack was no doubt crushed. Especially if the Akatsuki knew that he was there. Gaara remembered the name Zetsu, the Plantman Akatsuki. It was no doubt that he had been snooping around and had caught sight of the young Leader or had over heard Baki telling the Sand Ninja about him. So it looked like his plans to face the Akatsuki had been pushed up.

Immediately Deidara lashed out his hands, throwing clay bombs at him as he leapt back to avoid the sand. He wasn't surprised when sand immediately blocked the attack, causing a huge explosion. Without even worrying about damaging the buildings, Deidara threw more clay bombs at Gaara while leaping onto a swooping giant clay bird and taking off into the sky. Again, Gaara had the sand block the explosion before he leapt onto of his sand and was taking off after Deidara. He figured it was time to take it above anyway. That way no one would get hurt. He sent sand flying after the clay bird to catch Deidara and crush him.

Deidara only chuckled as he held tight onto his clay bird and avoided the sand. He threw out more clay bombs, causing loud explosions. It became very clear that the noise was now waking up the entire village, seeing that people were now running out into the streets and looking up. But the blonde Akatsuki didn't seem to care at all. His primary goal was getting a hold of the Shukaku carrier.

Gaara gritted his teeth as he chased after Deidara, sending sand flying after him. He knew if he didn't stop this Akatsuki's explosions, someone was going to get hurt. He had to stop him now. So he just summoned more sand out of the sand gourd to fly after him. Soon the night sky was full of flying sand trying to get a hold of Deidara. There were several explosions all around him as the clay bomber threw bombs at him but he used sand to keep them from hitting him. He just sent pounds of sand after the blonde, who was no doubt laughing at him.

"What's the matter, Shukaku Carrier?! Too fast for you?!" Deidara laughed from over his shoulder.

The red head didn't reply but kept his cool as he just sent more sand flying after him, chasing him practically all over the entire village. Streams of sand were flying all over the village, trying to catch him. But it wasn't easy at all. Deidara's clay bird was fast and kept dodging the sand like it was nothing. The chase eventually lead down in the streets. Deidara sped past Sand Ninja, startling most of them as he flew over their heads, followed by sand. Baki and Kankuro, of course, had been two of the people. They watched on with shock and horror that the plan had spiraled out of control like this.

Not more than a few minutes later, Deidara swooped upward into the sky again and turned around to find Gaara facing him on a large patch of sand with a dark look in his eyes. He could only smirk at the young red head, taunting him.

But with a cool look in his eyes, Gaara rose both hands, as if he was lifting something up into the air. It surprised Deidara, nonetheless. Especially when sand rose up from the very streets and formed a huge wave right behind Gaara. It shocked many spectators as they watched the power Gaara possessed. The large wave of sand just rose up higher, making even Deidara falter as he watched the sand spread out behind Gaara. With only a wave of his hand, Gaara sent the sand flying after Deidara, who immediately took off. It just made things a little harder for the clay bomber to avoid the sand though. There was more sand spread out and he had to speed things up very fast to avoid getting caught.

'Shukaku.' Gaara thought to the demon.

'Yeah, yeah! I know! I know! I'll catch that little wretch!' Shukaku growled as he pushed forward a little to help Gaara catch Deidara.

Deidara could only be surprised when large claw like formations began shooting out of the sand, grasping for him, though he kept his cool pretty well. He just smirked as he looked down at his hands, the mouths on them chewing quickly. He closed his hands into fists for a few seconds before reopening them up, revealing several small birds. "Let's see how you handle these babies." He remarked before having his clay bird swoop towards Gaara. He then flung them outwards, which the birds took flight. They began swooping down and hitting the claw like sand arms, causing explosions. Some even ventured close to Gaara but not close enough to hit him.

Still, that wasn't what Deidara was actually planning. He flung out much larger clay birds, sending them flying very quickly towards Gaara. They were definitely faster than the smaller birds. But then again, they did have four wings. He dipped his head down a little and lashed out his hands, summoning sand to intercept the birds. But to his annoyance, the birds flew right around the sand and headed straight towards him.

'Brat!' Shukaku snarled at him.

'I know, Shukaku! I know!' Gaara thought quickly to the demon as he quickly called up sand all around him, forming the sand sphere. There was an explosion outside the sphere but it didn't touch him, much to his relief. Still, he couldn't see what was going on outside, so he quickly gathered up sand into his hand, forming the third eyeball and sent it outside to take a look.

Before him, Deidara was watching with a smirk on his face, while the villagers below watched with horror and shock as they had just watched the huge explosion. Gaara spotted Kankuro with Baki, watching with shock but breathing with relief as he saw that Gaara had not been harmed. Yet. Turning his gaze back onto Deidara, Gaara smirked when he noticed that the clay bomber didn't even notice the huge wave of sand starting to rise up right behind him. It was Shukaku's doing, of course, but it was working. It was when the shadows fell over Deidara did he spin around and looked stunned up at the wave now closing around him. He gritted his teeth before bending low to the bird and let it just soar, trying to escape the sand prison forming around him.

And Deidara almost made it out.

But alas, the clay bird went colliding with the sandy walls of Shukaku's little prison and ended up getting caught in the sand. Tendrils began wrapping around Deidara, encasing him in a cocoon of sand. Of course, Deidara tried to fight himself free but he was completely trapped. The sand just grew bigger and bigger until it became a sphere just like Gaara's. Only it was Deidara inside of it.

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion on the side, much to Gaara's annoyance. A huge hole formed on the side and out came flying Deidara, with his trickster's grin on his face. He merely glanced over his shoulder at Gaara's sphere before allowing himself to fall towards the Village. But of course, Gaara wasn't going to let him get away that easily. He sent sand flying after Deidara, which took him by surprise when sand wrapped around his leg and began swinging him around like a doll. Then it flung him back towards Shukaku's sand prison, which opened up to swallow him. The demon was actually very enthusiastic about getting a meal. He was calling out for Deidara's blood and Gaara was actually going to let him have it. Normally he wouldn't due to it was a monstrosity but this was an Akatsuki. Deidara had helped Sasori kill his parents and had put a lot of lives in danger and pain.

However, before Deidara could collide with the sand death trap, he did a few flips in the air before throwing out clay, which burst into smoke and formed a huge owl, which he landed on. The owl immediately swooped away from Shukaku's grasping claws, much to the demon's rage. The sand sphere immediately opened up and began chasing after Deidara once again. Thick tendrils of sand nearly covered the sky trying to get a hold of the blonde clay bomber.

Frowning, Gaara made some of the sand over his sphere move so that he could have a better view of what was going on. He watched as Deidara dodged the sand with strained effort. He almost smirked coldly when a tendril of sand finally caught Deidara by the left arm, who gritted his teeth and glared down at it. But without hesitating, Gaara reached upward and clenched his fist as if to crush him. Of course, Deidara would not go down with a fight. He reached into his bag at his hip and grabbed more clay from within it before flinging it downwards at Gaara. Only this time, it wasn't a bird. It was a huge centipede and it was twisting and twirling itself around the sand connected to his arm. It wrapped itself around the tendril before exploding when Deidara formed a one hand sign with his freed hand.

There was a huge explosion as sand was flung in many directions. Gaara only narrowed his eyes but smirked when there was still sand clinging to a surprised Deidara's arm. He clenched his fist tight and the sand around Deidara's arm crushed it.

The clay bomber could not hold back the cry of pain as blood began to squeeze through the sand, soaking into the grains. But the damage was done as Deidara yanked himself free from the sand. The owl flew higher out of reach before turning sharply. Deidara was no doubt in a lot of pain just by the look on his face. He reached over and touched his crushed arm, letting blood trail along his fingers before he gave Gaara a very cold look. He was in not even a single doubt angry now. "You want to play like that, un?" He hissed through his gritted teeth before his lips curved into a smirk. He reached into his clay bag and grabbed a huge chunk of clay. With one hand, he began forming something out of the clay. By the looks of it, it was going to be big.

Gaara could only watched through narrowed eyes as he had the sand patch rise a little higher to get a better look at what Deidara was planning. He frowned when he saw Deidara make a large clump like statue. It didn't even look bird like or anything. It was just like some kind of ghost.

"See this? This is my masterpiece." Deidara said as he held it up, moving a little closer to the edge of his owl. He held it up higher so that Gaara could see it. "It contains the power of C4 Chakra. With this, I'll destroy this entire village, seeing that's what you've come here for anyway." He said before he flung it forward. With a burst of smoke, the clay bomb grew bigger, much bigger. It was bigger than Deidara and the clay owl put together.

Gaara's eyes widened with alarm as he watched the bird starting to fall. He heard people begin to scream from below as the huge clay bomb began to fall towards the village. 'No!' He thought to himself before he slammed his hands together and began calling all of the sand that he could towards the village. He could not let Deidara destroy the Sand Village just because he had been winning the fight. He had caught sight of the look of horror on everyone's faces. He had seen Kankuro looking wide eyed up at him as he watched the bomb falling, ready to obliterate the village. He had even caught sight of a terrified Quoi looking up from the crowd. Mustering all that he could, Gaara narrowed his eyes as a sweat broke out on his forehead as he called for more and more sand.

And then the bomb exploded above the Village.

Terrified screams racked the village as people covered their heads, waiting for fire to consume them and end their lives. But the only thing that fell upon them was grains of sand, followed by an eerie silence.

There was a long silence all throughout the village before everyone; Kankuro, the Sand Ninja, the Elders and the civilians looked up to see what had just happened. Some winced as a few grains of sand fell onto their faces but the sight they saw made them all gasp with shock and alarm.

There was a huge shield of sand hovering right above them. It was like half of the desert had answered Gaara's summons and came to protect the village.

By this time, Gaara was feeling the extreme strain on him. He could only look down, breathing hard as he looked at what he had just done. His chest was heaving and he felt exhausted after using most of his Chakra to call for all of that sand. He had used the Jutsu from the Secret Scroll that Elder Chiyo had given him. He was using the power of the desert, calling for it to aid the Village. And it had done what he needed it to do. Save the lives of the Sand Village.

"Got ya, un?" Deidara said chuckling, raising his hand.

Blinking in surprise from hearing his voice, Gaara's head shot up only to look off to the side as a clay bird came swooping towards him. He quickly called sand to patch up the hole he had been looking out of to avoid collision. There was another explosion, which startled most of the Villagers and the Sand Ninja. They all looked up with horror to see if their savior had just been hurt. "Gaara!" Kankuro bellowed with horror and pain. He couldn't believe that this fight was spiraling out of control like this.

There was a long silence before the smoke cleared away, revealing a full sand sphere. It made several breath in relief. Gaara had called the sand in time before the impact.

However, within the sphere, Gaara was panting heavily as he felt so tired from all the use of his Chakra. He was starting to wear down thin. He couldn't believe on how much Chakra he had used just to fight this one Akatsuki. He knew if fighting one Akatsuki was going to be this hard, it was going to be much harder to fight all of the Akatsuki if they decided to gang up on him.

Suddenly he felt a shift in his sand sphere, making his head whip around to see tiny white clay bugs burrowing through the sphere. He felt his chest tighten when he saw them squeezing through the grains of sand. "No!" He couldn't help but exclaim. There was a huge explosion all around him as the clay bugs exploded.

It made several scream out with horror, including Kankuro as he watched as Gaara's Sand Sphere exploded from within. He shook his head as he looked up with horror. He knew that Gaara was in serious trouble right now and that he needed help. But he really didn't know what he could do. This was his fight against Deidara. Besides, there was a possibility that he was okay. So the Puppet Master could only watch, and cross his fingers.

A few moments later, the sand sphere melted away and most of it fell, with only a decent sized holding up a slumped over Gaara, who was breathing very hard and looking like he was about to pass out any second. And he knew he was going to soon. He could already see the darkness creeping up on him. But there was one thing keeping him from falling unconscious first. His eyes flickered over to the large mass of sand hovering over the village, noting that some were starting to fall as it was. He was starting to lose control over it and he knew that if the entire mass just fell, it could crush the people in the streets. He couldn't allow that to happen. So with one eye closed in pain, he rose a hand and tried his hardest to push all of the sand away.

And slowly, it drifted away from the Village.

"He's….he's using the last of his strength to remove the sand from over the village!" Baki exclaimed in realization. Kankuro shook his head as he watched with wide eyes but then he gritted his teeth. He knew that Baki had a point. If Gaara was using the last of his strength to get rid of the sand, he knew that at any minute, his little brother was going to collapse. And he swore he was going to be there to defend him when he did. So he bolted away from Baki and started running towards the area where he believed that Gaara was going to fall. "Kankuro! Wait!" Baki called but he was ignored.

Gaara fought his hardest to keep the sand from falling onto the village, and the sand from collapsing from under himself. He was fighting very hard to keep himself up in the air. But it wasn't easy. He even started to slip a little but he strained himself from falling.

However, once the sand was back in the desert where it belonged, he could only dump all of that sand before he felt the control just spiral out of his reach. He sighed with mild relief that he managed to keep all of the sand he used from dumping onto the Sand Village before he, himself, fell right out of the air after losing control over his patch of sand. He heard a few cries of alarm from some of the Sand Ninja below but it couldn't be helped at all. He only fell towards the village, himself, as darkness started to fill his vision.

That is, until he felt himself collide with something. Gaara winced a little, barely managing to keep his eyes open. He could only glance over to see what he had just fallen on and to his painful horror, it had been Deidara's clay owl. The clay bomber had actually swooped down and caught himself before having the clay tail feathers of his ride wrap around him, trapping him onto it. He knew that he was in a whole lot of trouble. Especially when the Akatsuki member turned and smirked down at him. "You put up a pretty good fight, un? But not good enough." He remarked before he grabbed a hold of the bird under him and controlled it to fly off, towards the boundaries of the Village.

For Gaara, it went completely dark for him. He closed his eyes, wincing in pain. The fight had taken a huge toll on him. He could barely move, even without the bird binding him to it. His mind, however, trailed to Naruto with a feeling of dread. If he didn't find an inch of strength, he knew that Naruto would probably be next. 'Sh-Shuka…Sh-Shukaku.' He thought weakly to the sand demon. 'Shu-Shukaku….can….can you…..take over?'

The only reply from the demon was a weary groan, so obviously the sand demon, himself could not even find his own strength to answer. And then darkness consumed Gaara.

"GAARA!" Kankuro screamed from below as he watched as the Akatsuki taking his brother. "NO! GAARA!" he bolted after the bird, ignoring Baki's cries after him. He was not going to stop. He was not going to let Deidara take his little brother! He had to save him! He knew that if he didn't, Gaara would die.

Baki watched as Kankuro ran as fast as he could after Deidara's clay ride. He knew that the Puppeteer was going to stop at nothing to saving Gaara. He couldn't blame him. Over the past three years, Gaara and Kankuro had become very close to one another. They were as close as brothers should be. But he also knew that if Gaara could barely stand a chance against Deidara, there was no way that Kankuro could. No matter how skilled he was. Whirling around, he looked at the remaining Sand Ninja and some of the civilians. "We have to stop Deidara! We have to catch him! Any able Ninja! Immediately pursue the Akatsuki! Save the Kazekage!" He looked sharply at the Elders, who looked hesitant. "We have to send a message to the Hidden Leaf Village immediately! The Hokage needs to know about the situation! Temari needs to know what's happening to Gaara! Send our fastest eagle to her now!" He barked, taking control immediately.

Several Sand Ninja hesitated but after receiving the dangerous look from Baki, they chose to do as he told them. So they immediately bolted after Kankuro. The Elders could only glance at one another, almost as if they were trying to decide to listen to Baki or not. But then Chiyo nodded when they looked at her. Immediately, an Elder rushed towards the Aviary.

Near the gates of the Village, Deidara swooped down only to meet a hunched over figure, which was actually Sasori, himself. He had been waiting there for some time now, waiting impatiently for Deidara to find the One Tailed. Ever since Zetsu showed up and told that he had found Gaara of the Sand within the village, he immediately set the plan that they would finally leave the Sand Village with their prey and go back to the Headquarters to extract the demon from the host. He had made Deidara go out to find the host, as it was.

So when Deidara finally showed up with Gaara on the back of his clay ride, Sasori gave the blonde Akatsuki a very impatient look. "It's about time!" He growled at him.

Deidara scoffed at his Akatsuki partner before hopping down, wincing a little at his crushed left arm. He just shook his head as he leaned against his clay ride. He didn't look particularly happy that Sasori was scolding him. "Hey, hey! This guy was pretty tough, un? Look what he did to my arm!" He snapped, pointing at his arm.

Sasori only rolled his eyes but then turned away, already making his way out of the Sand Village. "Whatever. Let's get back to the Headquarters now. We have done what we needed to do to trap the One Tailed here. Just like the Leader said. He knew that the One Tailed Host could not resist on returning here if we caused the people harm." He said in a cackling voice before he and Deidara started out into the desert. It was time to extract the One Tailed Beast from Gaara of the Sand.

However, it was by dawn did someone finally catch up. Kankuro had finally caught up with Sasori and Deidara. He had succeeded his goal to catch up to them. But it did not mean, he succeeded in getting Gaara back.


	38. Chapter Thirty Eight

Naruto was in a foul mood as he stood in front of Tsunade, along with Kakashi and Sakura. He couldn't believe the Fifth Hokage at all. He hadn't been back in Konoha more than three days and he was already getting lame missions assigned to him. For the past three days since he had been back, surprises were popping up all around him. He had been surprised by the way Sakura now looked and how strong she had gotten. He had been surprised to learn that Temari was in the Leaf Village, rounding up some Leaf Ninja to go to Sunagakure, where he learned Gaara was. He had tried begging Tsunade to let him go but she immediately stated that he wasn't to go just yet. She wanted to, and he could seriously quote her on that, "Warm you up a little first, Naruto."

He hated her for that.

Of course, to learn from the other Konoha Ninja that Sakura and Gaara were now an item came as a complete shock to him. He couldn't believe it though. Sakura and Gaara were together. He had stood still for a very long moment, staring into space with the look of shock. It took Kakashi actually knocking him on the head, since Sakura was a little nervous of doing it. She hadn't wanted Naruto to find out just yet but Kiba just had to go open his big, fat mouth.

But after the moment of shock passed, Naruto grinned at her and hugged her tightly, much to her shock and bewilderment. "Man! Thank you so much, Sakura-chan! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" He had bellowed.

Everyone stared at him with astonishment that he was actually thanking her for being with Gaara. They had thought he might start pouting and whining. In truth, Naruto was a little upset about it but then again, he came to the conclusion that he would have rather seen Gaara win Sakura's heart. When Kiba asked him if he was sick or something, Naruto just smiled faintly and shook his head. "I'm not happy it wasn't me who got to be with Sakura, yeah. But then again, I'm very happy that it's Gaara. All our lives, Gaara and I believed that we would be alone and never find someone to love us like that. Gaara had it worst than me. I'm glad that you're giving him this chance, Sakura. He's a really good guy and he'll treat you a whole lot better than You-Know-Who." He said softly, not wanting to even mention Sasuke's name.

Again, everyone was astonished of how much Naruto had grown up after three years of training with Jiraiya. None of them could believe that this was the Naruto they had all grown up with and trained with. He had changed.

But then again, when he got a very sly grin on his face and asked Sakura if she did something inappropriate with Gaara yet, they all went back to dryly looking at him or laughing when a flustered and angry Sakura sent him nearly flying across the entire village from hitting him so hard. It had to be Tsunade to heal all of the broken bones that her pink haired apprentice gave him.

And during those three days of being back in Konoha, Team Kakashi had been formed again, with the three teammates. Kakashi, of course, had to test the two to see how good they had gotten since they've been away. He put them through the bell test, which took almost a whole day and night to do. But after pulling on a dirty trick against Kakashi, namely Naruto threatening the silver haired Jounin that he'd tell him the ending of the new Icha Icha book, both of the young ninja beat their Jounin sensei.

Now, they were reinstated as Team Kakashi and was getting ready to be put back on missions.

Of course, Tsunade was trying to shove the lame missions back onto them; such as cutting lawns and chasing down that stupid cat, Tora, who kept on escaping its fat owner. And of course, Naruto immediately rejected the missions she was trying to bounce onto his head, pouting dryly on the ground while both Kakashi and Sakura was sweat dropping miserably.

"Okay. Maybe he hasn't changed too much." Sakura said dryly with a sigh.

Before Tsunade could lose her temper on the energetic knucklehead ninja, the door slammed open and in came a messenger, looking very frantic and holding a scroll in his hand. He looked as if he had just been threatened by a wild animal and it was chasing him into the office. "Lady Hokage! Emergency message from the Sand Village!" He cried out leaping towards the Fifth, who frowned with surprise before snatching the scroll. She unrolled it quickly and read what it said.

A second later, her eyes widened and she grew pale as she had a look of horror on her face. She looked as if someone had just died. Or was very close to. Her hand shaking a little, she dropped the scroll onto her desk and she sank down into her chair.

"Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura asked frowning with concern. "Shishou, what is it? Is it from Gaara?"

That definitely had Naruto's attention. He immediately stood up and looked to Tsunade, who winced at the name before retaining a serious look on her face as she met his eyes. That look in her eyes scared Naruto. He did not like it at all. With a stony face, Tsunade turned her eyes onto Kakashi, who also was frowning with concern. "It's from Baki. Or something like that. Last night, Gaara was caught by the Akatsuki. He fought with the terrorist, Deidara and lost the fight. The Akatsuki are taking him to their hidden base to extract Shukaku from him."

Both Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened as their hearts nearly stopped beating in their chest. They both grew the same shade of white from the terrible news. Even Kakashi looked horrified. They couldn't believe it. Gaara had been defeated. He had fought the Akatsuki on his own and he had been beaten. Tears filled Sakura's eyes as she covered her mouth and slowly shook her head. Like Naruto, her heart had only started to crack from the heartbreak. But unlike Sakura, Naruto's face darkened and his eyes flickered almost to red as he clenched his fists so tight that his nails bit into his palms, causing them to start to bleed. He was not going to let the Akatsuki get away with this. Never.

Pain. That was what Gaara felt as he felt himself gaining consciousness. He felt excruciating pain in his entire body. His entire body felt as if it had been severely burned and then had salt rubbed all over it. But what surprised him the most that he was still alive. He would have expected that he would have been killed already.

Then again, he didn't really expect to wake up in a pitch black room, chained to the wall.

Gaara weakly opened his eyes and looked around the black room, trying his hardest to see where he was at. He tried to move his arms, but found that they were shackled tightly above his head. He could barely move at all. He was just too weak at the moment. He couldn't really tell where he was due to it being so dark. But by the feeling of the wall, he was in some kind of cavern. The walls were a little rocky and it felt like someone had cut out this room. He could barely hear a trickle of water near by and it just quenched his thirst a little. His throat felt so dry and scratchy. He could smell blood in the air as well as mold. It made his nose crinkle to think that this could have been the Akatsuki Headquarters. 'Shukaku…you there still?' He thought, though he knew it was a stupid question to ask.

'…If I wasn't….you'd be dead right about now…..' Shukaku growled with irritation, though he also sounded weak.

The young red head winced as he tried to shift himself up into a more comfortable sitting but it just sent a rack of pain his way. He tightly closed his eyes and held his breath until the pain resided. However, holding his breath only made him see yellow spots behind his eyelids and he felt a little dizzy. 'Shukaku….where are we?' he thought to the demon, reopening his eyes and trying to take a look around again.

The demon made a growling sound and Gaara could almost see him twitching his tail with irritation but he didn't lose his temper. 'Not a clue. I couldn't take over this body while you were out. I think the Akatsuki might have given you something. Drugged you while you were out. Drugs don't do well with the Tailed Beasts. Even they can work on us if applied right.' The sand demon growled at him. 'But I did hear a little bit for you. From what I could tell, that lame brother of yours came after us and the Akatsuki. He got into a fight with Sasori, but the clay bomber didn't stay long enough to watch the fight. He took off with our body." It was here did the demon hesitate from saying anything else.

Gaara didn't like the sound of the sand demon's voice though. He felt a wave of dread roll over him at the thought that Kankuro had come after him, to save him. What had happened when he did? 'Shukaku? What happened to Kankuro?!' he thought frantically.

The Sand demon was quiet for a very long time, leaving Gaara on edge. That was not a good sign at all. Usually at this point, Shukaku would have just taunted him with the answer. But judging by their connection, what the demon had to say, Gaara knew he was not going to like it at all. 'I'm not entirely sure. But when Sasori caught up an hour later, Deidara did ask. And Sasori said that he had taken care of Kankuro without any problems at all. I can only guess that…..I can only guess that Sasori killed him.' He stated very quietly.

There had only been a few times did Gaara ever felt the terrible pain in his chest and they had all come from terrible situations. The time that he lost control over Shukaku and murdered many ninja. The time he nearly killed Rock Lee. The time Tenten had approached him with such hatred in her eyes. And even the time Yashamaru tried to kill him, forcing him to try and run away from the Leaf Village. His heart was shattering in his chest. He knew it had to be. The pain was so unbearable. To think that his older brother was killed for trying to save him, it hurt so badly. Tears filled his eyes as he squeezed his eyes and he let out an animalistic cry.

"Kankuro!" Gaara hissed painfully. "No…." He leaned his head back against the rocky wall, not caring if it only added onto his pain. He didn't care that tears were now trailing down the sides of his face, mixing with dirt and blood. His mind was only on his brother. "NO!" He roared into the darkness.

There was a long silence in the dark room, other than Gaara's own painful sobs. It did make him a little happy that Shukaku didn't take the pleasure of his pain. The demon was actually being very quiet. The demon knew better than to say anything about Kankuro's possible death. His host was too much in pain right now to taunt him. He knew that Gaara couldn't take any wise cracks from him at the moment. So he would keep his mouth shut.

Just then, a low squeak in the room made Gaara's eyes fly open and he looked into the darkness; glared more like it. The sound was more like a door opening. He sensed someone coming into the room. No, not someone. More than someone. There were two sets of footsteps entering the dark room. So there must have been two people coming into the room. Still, it was too dark to see right now. So he couldn't tell who was there. But seeing the position he was in, it had to be Akatsuki.

And sure enough, two forms moved a little closer where he could make out the form of someone wearing those ridiculous black cloaks with red clouds.

"Who's there?" Gaara growled, threateningly. A cold chuckle was his answer as the owner moved a little closer to him. He still couldn't see who it was. That is, until he saw a flicker of red. It was a familiar red. Something he remembered from the day Sasuke had fought Naruto and left the Leaf Village. "Tobi." He snarled between his teeth.

Heh, heh." Came Tobi's voice before the sound of a match being struck. The sudden burst of light hurt Gaara's eyes, making him flinch and close his eyes. But after a moment, he slowly reopened them to see Tobi lighting a candle so that they could see each other. Tobi had not changed very much at all through the past three years. He actually looked the same. He wore the same clothes, had the same hair style, wore that stupid orange mask that Gaara found himself wanting to break, along with the face under it. "Welcome to the Akatsuki, Gaara. I do hope you're feeling all right. From what I've heard Dei-Dei did a real number on you. He actually tried to blow you up for crushing his arm. He got into trouble for it, but not too much because you're still alive."

Gaara narrowed his eyes coldly at him, his teeth starting to bare at him. He wanted nothing more to break the chains binding him and rip this Akatsuki agent apart. But then his eyes caught sight of someone standing in the darkness behind him, making him frown and look over Tobi's shoulder. He froze seeing who it was.

It had taken him a moment to realize it was not who he thought it was. He had thought it was Sasuke for a moment. But then again, this Sasuke was much older than the real Sasuke. He most have been a decent few years older than him. Maybe ten years older. He was much taller and he had very long, raven black hair falling around his pale face. The dark eyes peering through the long strands of hair was so lifeless and cold though. Not what Gaara was used to. But either way, he knew that this could only be the elder Uchiha brother, Itachi.

"You." The young red head hissed, his eyes narrowing at Itachi.

Itachi didn't react at all but stare lifelessly back at him. He looked Gaara right in the eyes, not saying or doing anything at all. But Tobi, however, merely glanced over his shoulder at Itachi before chuckling dryly as he turned back. "Oh, that's right. You two have met before. Well, I didn't exactly expect you to remember him though, Gaara. After all, you were only a baby at the time. But then again, Itachi does have the knack of leaving terrible marks on people." He then rest his elbows on his knees while remaining bent down in front of the young red head. "Itachi, don't be rude and just say hello. It's been a while since you've seen Gaara, anyway."

The Uchiha didn't obey though. He just kept his mouth shut but stared Gaara right into the eyes.

Not caring either way, Tobi shrugged before turning his masked face back towards Gaara. He was chuckling again, as if he found something very funny. "Well, well, Gaara. You sure got yourself into a real mess this time. Didn't I tell you not to go back to come back until you were ready to face us?" he remarked.

Gaara glared at Tobi fiercely. He didn't want to be scolded by the likes of him. He didn't really understand why he was anyway. Wasn't he apart of the group who had wanted to capture him and kill him? "Why do you care, Tobi? I came back to the Hidden Sand Village to drive the whole lot of you out of that place and free the people from you!" He snarled at him.

Tobi snorted as he slowly shook his head, not offended at all that Gaara was growling at him like an animal. He actually seemed to have found it funny. "And yet, you were savagely beaten by Deidara, who happens to be one of the weakest of the whole lot of Akatsuki and now you are here, in the Akatsuki Headquarters, or at least one of them, chained to a wall, waiting to be murdered." He then lashed out and grabbed a fistful of Gaara's hair, nearly pulling some strands out by the roots. It only made the young red head grunt in pain as his head was yanked back and then slammed into the wall. He was really seeing stars after that. "I told you not to attack the Akatsuki until you were strong enough, Gaara." Tobi said now, very coldly. He was no longer cheerful as he had been again. It was the same voice he used years ago. The first time he showed his true colors to Gaara. "And now, within an hour or two, you are going to begin the process of dying."

The red head winced as his hair was being pulled but he wasn't going to give Tobi the satisfaction of showing his pain to him. So mustering the coldest look he could, he met the one eye in the mask, defying him if not challenging him. "Why haven't you began yet then? I'm surprised you haven't." He said coldly.

Tobi tilted his head to the side before roughly leaning against Gaara's head to stand up. He didn't answer for a moment as he turned away and took a few steps away from the young red head. Then he turned back around, folding his arms. "Unfortunately, we had a little trouble before we got started. You see, two of our members were on a mission to gather another Tailed Beast and they lost her. So they were distracted for a moment as they tried to find her." But then Tobi shrugged as it was no big deal. "They'll have her soon. I'm surprised they even lost her. She's a slippery little cat." He then dropped his arms again, chuckling when he saw interest Gaara's eyes. "Don't be worrying about the other Tailed Beast, Gaara. You should be more worried about yourself. The Extraction of Shukaku is going to begin very soon and it's going to kill you. And because Naruto Uzumaki is on his way here now, we will need to prepare the Extraction of Kyuubi next."

Gaara's eyes lit up with surprise to hear that Naruto was on his way to rescue him. So his best friend was coming. In a way it frightened him more than it excited him. If Naruto showed up at the Akatsuki Headquarters, it would mean he would be next to die. Unless Jiraiya managed to train him correctly, that is. But he was sure he had. "Naruto…."

"Don't worry about your friend, Gaara. He'll be joining you soon enough." Tobi said coldly before he turned away and started towards the door. "Now then, I will leave you two to sort something out. Itachi requested that he saw you before the Extraction. Which is probably why he defied orders to stay right where he was suppose to and came here. Against his orders. Well, either way, he'll be returning to his mission as soon as he's done talking to you." He remarked before waving over his shoulder and leaving the dark room.

It was very quiet as Gaara glared up hatefully at Itachi, who stared dully right back. Neither one said anything for a very long time. They only looked right into each other's eyes. But then Gaara narrowed his teal eyes at the Uchiha and dipped his head down. "Uchiha." He hissed. "You murdered my mother."

Itachi's head shifted only a fraction, tilting to the side while looking Gaara right into the eyes. "And what if I did?" he asked quietly.

Gaara just growled at him, now pulling at the chains, hoping that some how that they would break so he could attack Itachi. He wanted nothing more than to take the Uchiha down for what he had done. He distinctively knew that this had been the reason Sasuke went to join Orochimaru in the first place. If he could kill Itachi on his own, just maybe Sasuke would return to the village. "I'll kill you, Itachi Uchiha! I will rip you apart for killing my mother!" He snarled at him.

Itachi actually startled chuckling as if he found Gaara's remark hilarious. He only shook his head as he looked dryly right into Gaara's teal eyes. "I really cannot say on how many times I've heard that before." He then shook his head, no longer chuckling. "But I suppose before you die, I should tell you the truth. I didn't kill your mother." He told him.

The news surprised Gaara, making him freeze with alarm and stare at Itachi Uchiha with disbelief. How could he could he believe that? Temari and Kankuro had told him that Itachi killed their mother?

There was a pause before Itachi turned away, looking at the far wall away from Gaara. He seemed to be thinking about what to say to the young red head but then he tilted his head back towards him. "I did not kill the Lady Kazekage." He repeated. "Sasori did." And then he began explaining what really happened fifteen years ago, the day that Gaara was brought to the Leaf Village.

~Flash back~

There was too sudden black flashes running along side the Lady Kazekage, all the while she was running with her children, carrying her precious youngest son. She was bleeding pretty badly from the kunai wound that the young Itachi Uchiha had given her but she chose to ignore it. She just kept on running while glancing to the side at the two Akatsuki chasing her and her children. She knew that they were in trouble. And when the shark looking Akatsuki, Kisame Hoshigaki reached over to grab her, she jerked to the side to run around a tree so that he would crash into it.

It worked.

But then Itachi Uchiha grabbed a hold of the young one, Kankuro, yanking him to a stop. The Lady Kazekage had no choice but to come to a halt with Temari, glaring at the young ninja. With a pained look on her face, she shoved her baby into Temari's arms and gave her a light shove. "Temari! Run!" She ordered. Her daughter gave a stunned look and even started shaking her head but she looked fiercely at her oldest child. "Temari! They will kill him! You are the fastest runner of our family! RUN!" She screamed at the girl. Temari flinched but then she bolted as fast as she could away from the clearing. Almost like the wind, she vanished into the trees with her screaming baby brother in her arms.

"Get the demon carrier, Kisame!" Itachi yelled to his partner as he held onto the struggling boy. He watched his partner bolt after the girl, only to have stop when the Lady Kazekage jumped into his path, creating a Sand Cloud. He gritted his teeth as he watched both of the women run towards them.

"Let my little puppeteer go!" The Lady screamed along with her clone.

Itachi threw Kankuro hard to the ground, whom hit his head on a rock and he was out cold immediately. He had not really wanted to harm the woman any more than he already had. He knew that the wound he had given her was enough to slow her down. But it looked like she still had some fight in her.

Suddenly there was a flash of silver from behind him and a large, metallic scorpion tail lashed out striking the Lady Kazekage through the chest. A terrible scream of pain and death erupted from her as blood began trailing down her front and the tail. Both Itachi and Kisame whirled around with alarm only to see the cold stare of Sasori as he had his puppet's tail lift the Lady's body a little before tossing her to the side like a rag doll. She hit the ground hard, leaving her gasping in pain and choking on blood as it came out of her mouth. She shuddered with remaining life leaving her before she was still again.

Itachi, however, gritted his teeth and gave Sasori a nasty look as he straightened himself. "Sasori! There was no need to kill her! She was weak as it was, so therefore there was no need to take her life!" He said acidly.

Sasori turned his cold eyes onto the raven haired Akatsuki member, before whipping out his scorpion's tail to throw the blood onto the ground. Then he had it curl back into its compartment inside the puppet. "Why so angry, Itachi? Did that worthless woman mean something to you?" He snorted when Itachi glared at him. "Don't be so soft, Itachi! She was the enemy and she refused to give us the Shukaku! We sacrifice those who have no meaning at all or are not useful to us! She was only in the way! Now, gather up that little brat and let's go find the Shukaku!" He demanded, now hurrying along past him.

Itachi glared after Sasori but then let his eyes flicker over to the Lady Kazekage's dead body. He knew that she meant nothing to him, but he could not help but feel a flicker of pity roll over him. In a way, he saw his own mother lying in the pool of blood. He felt pity for this woman, for all she was doing was protecting her baby from them, even if he had been trying to get a hold of him, himself. But with a sigh, he returned to his cold stature and picked up the boy, Kankuro, before following after the other Akatsuki. It was time to finish what he had started.

~End Flashback~

"So…..there it is. The truth. I may have inflicted a few terrible wounds on your mother, myself. But I did not take her life." Itachi finished explaining to Gaara, who was staring off at the wall with a stunned expression on his face. In a way, the Uchiha could not blame this young Leader for being so surprised. He had only been a baby at the time and his siblings hadn't known their selves of who really killed their mother. So all of that time, Gaara of the Sand had hated Itachi Uchiha for something that he did not do.

Gaara swallowed hard as he took in the information. He had the truth of his mother's killer. It had been Sasori, the fake Kazekage. His mother's real killer had been Sasori of the Red Sand, The Greatest Puppet Master. It hurt to hear of the way she had been killed but it only enraged him more. He swore he was going to survive this and kill him, if not die doing it.

Gritting his teeth, the young red head turned his teal eyes onto Itachi, giving him a hateful look. "You may have not killed her, but you did cause my former teammate pain. The mere memory of you destroying your own clan has driven Sasuke away from the Leaf Village. It has hurt Naruto and Sakura, and that I can not forgive at all." He spoke with a growl. "Anyone who hurts them, they will deal with me. In a way, by hurting Sasuke, you've hurt them. I will see to it that you pay for it."

"…" Itachi hummed, his dark eyes narrowing a little in thought. "You cared about Sasuke, yes?"

The young red head blinked only once, still glaring at the Uchiha but he dipped his head into a nod. He had to tell the truth and tell Itachi that he did care a little about Sasuke. They had been teammates and they had been through a lot together. "Yes. He was a friend." He said darkly. "That is until he ran away to Orochimaru. And I will see to it that he's brought back to the Leaf Village, with Naruto and Sakura."

Itachi tilted his head away from Gaara, looking a little thoughtful before he turned his dark eyes back onto Gaara. He was quiet for a very long time as he thought about something, not sharing his thoughts at all. He seemed to be making a silent decision. But after those long several moments, he slowly nodded before moving a little closer and bending down in front of Gaara, who tried to kick out at him. Gaara knew it was a lost cause and it was dangerous but he really hated this ninja. He wasn't at all surprised that Itachi caught his foot before lashing out and roughly grabbing him by the neck. Like Tobi had done before, Itachi shoved the young red head hard against the wall, almost causing him to black out from the painful impact. The Uchiha just shook his head, looking very dangerous as he gave Gaara a look of warning. "Don't do that again." He warned darkly.

"Get your hand off of me!" Gaara growled between his teeth. The result was only Itachi tightening his grip on the young leader's neck, choking off his air a little. The dark haired Akatsuki member just shook his head, with a cold smirk on his face. That made Gaara feel a little uneasy. But it made him frown when Itachi began forming a hand sign with his free hand. "What are you…..?" he choked out.

Itachi didn't answer but close his eyes for a moment, muttering something way too quiet for Gaara to pick up. But when he opened his eyes, Gaara felt a wave of terror roll over him as he met the fiery red Sharingan eyes. The flashback of meeting those eyes as a baby came back and even tried to jerk away from Itachi, who wouldn't let go at all. He just kept a firm grip on his neck before reaching up with free hand and touching his forehead; the Kanji marking of Love. Within Gaara's head came a blinding wave of pain, causing him to cry out in pain and close his eyes. He felt as if his head was splitting in two. He could not stop the yell of pain from erupting his lungs, which Itachi ignored.

After a moment's pause, Itachi released Gaara, now stepping back and leaving him with his head aching terribly. "When you survive this whole ordeal with the Akatsuki, deliver this message to the Kyuubi. And you might as well as do it yourself as well. Save Sasuke." He told him.

Gaara was too much in pain to be surprised. He only let his head fall onto his chest while panting heavily. He slowly lift his head to look up at Itachi again, only to see the Uchiha's fist flying at his head, hitting him from the side. He could not keep himself from flying into the dark of unconsciousness.

While floating into the darkness of unconsciousness, Gaara found himself once again in his mind world of the dark desert. He still felt pain all around him as he laid on the black sand of his mind desert. He could only stare up at the black sky, wondering what had just happened and tried to remember what Itachi said to him. It was a blur to him. But there was one question going on in his mind the most.

How was he going to get out of here and protect Naruto from the Akatsuki?

Gaara knew for a fact that if he couldn't beat the Akatsuki, how would Naruto? He knew that he had always been a little more skilled than his best friend when it came to the ways of the Ninja. It was a fact that Naruto mostly got lucky in fights. He didn't have too many skills when it came to fighting and he usually just went with fists of fury when it came to beating the enemy. But he knew that if Naruto fought against the Akatsuki, there was no way he could beat them.

'Brat.'

Gaara lift his eyes and found Shukaku hovering over him, looking sourly down at him as he laid there. The sand demon looked rather grumpy that he was just lying there and not doing nothing. "Go away." The red head muttered.

'Are you just going to lie there and let the Akatsuki win?! Are you seriously going to let them take me from you?! If they take me, you will die!' The Demon growled at him.

Gaara forced himself to sit up and glare up at the sand demon. He really felt like he didn't need to explain himself to the demon. "And why would you care what happens to me, Shukaku?! Why would you care?! The Akatsuki will take you from my body and you'll still be alive! But me…..I'll be dead! I will die! So why would you care?!" Tears filled Gaara's eyes as he glared up at the sand demon. "You've never liked being inside of me as it is, Shukaku! You've always hated it! And soon, you'll be free!"

'Free?! Is that what you think?! If the Akatsuki extract me from you, yeah, you'll die! But I won't be free! I'll still be held prisoner! I don't care what happens to you, yes! I never liked you, you weak, human brat! But I'd rather be trapped inside of you than be trapped inside of an Akatsuki or whatever they are planning!' Shukaku roared at him.

Still glaring at the sand demon, Gaara shook his head. "Why, Shukaku?! Why would you want to be stuck with me?!" He demanded.

The Sand demon continued to glare at him, yet his hackles raised a little and his tail twitched furiously. He seemed to having trouble explaining what he really wanted to say. But after a moment, the demon's eyes narrowed, yet not in anger or suspicion. There was actually softness in the demon's eyes. 'Because you have compassion for others, Gaara.'

The mentioning of his name stunned the young red head. Never had Shukaku ever called him by his real name. At least of what he could remember. It was always "Brat" or "Weak Human", but never "Gaara."

'Believe it or not, we, the Bijuu, have feelings. Even that blasted Nine Tailed Fox does.' Shukaku went on, his black and yellow eyes looking into Gaara's teal colored ones. 'And we do tend to grow attached to things and people. I may not like you, Gaara, but I have grown attached to you. You are my host and if you die…' The Demon sighed, his eyes closing. 'I will feel like I did not do what I should have during these many years. Protect you. You and Naruto Uzumaki has shown me this. We should use our power to protect, not destroy. We should save, not kill. The compassion you hold in your heart for your friends and that girl, Sakura, has reminded me of something from my former life.' Shukaku reopened his eyes and looked back at a stunned Gaara. 'I don't want to leave your body, boy, because you have such compassion inside of you and it has changed even me. Me, the One Tailed, Blood thirsty Beast of the Nine Bijuu.'

Gaara stared up at him with surprise but then after a long moment, he stood up and faced his inner demon with a sad look on his face. He stared up at the sand demon for a moment. "Shukaku…"

Suddenly there was a wave of pain rolled over Gaara, making him cry out and fall down to his knees, clutching his head. He felt as if his brain was being sucked out of his ears. He saw many flashes all around him and a terrible storm began to kick in all around him. Funnel clouds began to swirl in the dark desert all around him and the sky was full of flashing lights. Looking up, he saw that the flashes were actually images of his memories. They were images of his life.

"Wh-what is…..is hap-happening?!" Gaara cried out, still clutching onto his head.

Shukaku looked around, growling and snarling at the funnel clouds but then he looked sadly down at Gaara. 'It's begun. They are trying to extract me from you. You're dying, boy. These are just the last flashbacks of your life. Your life is flashing before your eyes.' He growled before moving closer to Gaara and wrapping his tail around the young ninja, who was in great pain. The demon made a terrible sound of a wounded animal as he wrapped Gaara into his tail. 'It will take three days to completely remove me from your body. When the desert around is gone, then so shall I. I am the Desert within you. And when it is gone, I will be.'

"Shukaku!" Gaara found himself yell in his pain as he curled up into a ball. In a way, he saw himself as a child again. He saw himself as a lonely eight year old boy, curled up in a ball and crying from being alone. Alone with a demon behind him.

'Kid, it's been fun being with you. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better.' Shukaku growled softly as he wrapped his claws around the curled up boy on his tail. His own eyes closed, waiting for himself to be removed. He and Gaara knew very well that there was no way to stop it now. Not in this black world they were stuck in. The only possible way for it to be stopped was someone on the outside. Someone had to stop the Extraction. But how could anyone save them now?

Gaara opened his eyes and looked into the flashing dark sky, watching as his life passed before his eyes. He saw himself growing up under Jiraiya's kind and loving eyes. He saw how he had been alone most of the time with children making fun of him because of his red hair and dark rings around his eyes. He saw his memories of meeting Naruto for the first time. Then he saw how they had stuck together, fighting off the many dangers that came their way.

Meeting Kakashi for the first time.

Fighting Zabuza and Haku.

The Chunin Exams.

Temari and Kankuro meeting him and looking surprised that they had found him.

The pain during the Chunin Exams.

The losing control over Shukaku and the demon terrorized and killed many ninja during the Second Exam.

Nearly killing Rock Lee during their match in the Preliminaries.

Tenten screaming at him in hate.

The mind reading sessions with Ibiki Morino and learning about his brother, Idate.

The fight with Naruto and having his senses brought back to him.

And of course, the night with Sakura, when she finally told him that she cared about him in a way that he could only dream of.

"Sakura….Naruto….." Gaara murmured as the last bits of his life was flashing and disappearing into the darkness. He saw that the dark desert around him was just getting darker and fading into blackness. He felt Shukaku's spirit fading away as well and even heard the sand demon growling in pain as he tried to cling onto the young leader. "Temari…Kankuro…..Baki…Jiraiya…..I'm…..sorry…" He muttered before looking at his hand, noting how it was fading. He knew that this was it. He was dying. The pain was fading away, and he knew it was too late to fight.

He had lost the battle.

Author's Note: I hated doing this chapter. I cried the entire time, while typing it out. No joke. Of course, I think it was because I was also listening to the Naruto song; Sadness and Sorrow while typing it out. Just for background music. lol. Anyway, I promise, it gets a lot better from here on out. Something will happen.


	39. Chapter Thirty Nine

"NO!" Both Naruto and Sakura yelled as soon as they saw what was inside the cavern that served as one of the Akatsuki's Headquarters. They couldn't believe what they were seeing, and how horrible these two Akatsuki truly were.

For the past three days, they had either traveled to the Hidden Sand Village, with both Kakashi and Jiraiya, and had spent the past few days there. Before they had left the Hidden Leaf Village, when the news hit Jiraiya of Gaara's capture, he immediately went straight to Tsunade's office, stone faced and told the Fifth Hokage that he was going with the team that would be going to rescue him. He would not sit around the Leaf Village and wait for the news of what happened to his young ward. He refused it. So, Tsunade assigned Team Kakashi to go with Jiraiya to the Hidden Sand Village. Along the way, they had ran into Temari and a few of the Leaf Ninja, no one that they really knew, and they told her the news that they had received. Never in any of their lives had they seen Temari break down so fast and then recover with fury. She had started crying for a few minutes, stating that she knew she shouldn't have left before she grew serious again. She immediately took off and everyone had no choice but to quickly follow her.

Upon reaching the Sand Village, Team Seven, Jiraiya and Temari were delayed from going after the Akatsuki and Gaara. The minute they set foot in the Village, a Sand Ninja quickly approached Temari with Baki, and told her that they had recovered Kankuro, but he was deathly ill from a poison that Sasori hit him with. Luckily for them, Sakura had learned a lot about medical jutsu from Tsunade so she could treat him. She had managed to save Kankuro in time. But it delayed them from going after Gaara.

They had taken off as soon as they could, using a piece of cloth that Kankuro had pulled off of Sasori to track them. With them, the Elder, Chiyo had decided to go with them. She claimed that she needed to settle things with her grandson as it was. It wasn't long before Team Gai, whom they claimed that Tsunade sent to join them, caught up and they moved on.

Along the way, they ran into the two Akatsuki members, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, eventually they got into a fight with them.

During the fight with Itachi, Naruto was bewildered when the black haired ninja revealed something to him. He had been locked in battle with him and just as the blonde was administrating a fatal blow to the older ninja, Itachi Uchiha actually smiled at him and said something that stunned the energetic blonde.

"The Headquarters is not far now. If you hurry, you can save your friend." And then he was gone.

Itachi's words had puzzled Naruto but he really didn't think too of it. He believed that the Akatsuki member was only trying to trick him. It had to be a trap of some kind. But manage his surprise when Team Seven and Team Gai finally arrived at the Akatsuki base not far away at all. It wasn't even ten minutes away from where they had been fighting with Itachi and Kisame. Jiraiya had been delayed though, helping Team Gai with other things.

However, once Sakura broke down the huge door blocking their way in, everyone halted when they found Gaara. Along with Deidara and Sasori waiting for them. Of course, finding the blonde clay bomber sitting squarely on top of Gaara's body did not help the case at all.

"GET THE HELL OFF OF HIM, YOU FREAK!" Naruto bellowed the second he saw Deidara sitting on his best friend.

Both Akatusuki just stared at the group, not caring that they were being yelled at by Naruto at all. Instead, Deidara snorted and nodded to him. "Just as Itachi said. The Nine Tailed bijuu would be the first one to run in and start yelling up the place." He remarked with dry amusement, still sitting on Gaara's chest.

However, Sakura balled up her fists so tight as she glared at the two with her blonde friend. She was more than furious when she saw the blonde sitting on her somewhat boyfriend. She had seen how deathly pale he was and how he wasn't moving at all. Her eyes narrowed, yet were full of tears as she looked at Gaara's motionless face. But after what Deidara said, she snapped her attention onto him and glared hatefully at him. "Get off of Gaara right now! I will not have you using him as a human couch!" She yelled angrily.

Both Akatsuki looked at her next but then Sasori growled as he looked from Naruto to Sakura then back. He seemed to be having a difficult time trying to decide something. "Well, this changes things. They're both loud and annoying. Which one is the Kyuubi, Deidara?" he asked acidly.

Everyone blinked in surprise but then Naruto gritted his teeth looking at the puppet master with a dark look. "You want me, come and get me." He said dangerously.

"So, you are the Nine tailed Fox." The Puppet Master Akatsuki. "This makes things so much easier. Why don't you just come with us and we'll take the Nine Tailed demon out of you. Therefore, we don't have to do any un-necessary fighting and killing a bunch of useless ninja."

Naruto's head dipped down along with everyone else's. None of them liked the situation they were in, but it only angered them even more to think that these guys had caused so much harm to Gaara. It was obvious that Gaara was dead. He wasn't moving, wasn't breathing. He was dead. And it only pissed each one of the Ninja off even more to think that it had been these evil people who had killed him. Glaring hatefully at the two, Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously, yet they started to flicker from cerulean blue to blood red. He couldn't really believe that Gaara was dead because of these two. "You monsters! I will kill you for what you've done to Gaara!"

"And I'll help him!" Sakura yelled, tears now flowing down her cheeks as she stood firmly beside her friend. It hurt her more than any realized to think that Gaara was dead. After all they had been through. After all of the hard work that Gaara had done to saving his village from the Akatsuki, they had snuffed it out like a match. She knew that she had to do something. She would not let Gaara's hard work go to waste. She refused it. "You." She growled, looking directly at Sasori. "You are mine! I will finish what Gaara started! I will free Gaara's village from the likes of you, just like he tried to do!" She said in a deadly tone.

Sasori snorted at her words but motioned to Deidara. "Deidara, leave us now. Take the body and dispose of it." He told the clay bomber.

His words burned into Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi's hearts, only churning the rage that they felt even more. Each one of them glared at the two fiercely. Chiyo, however, just frowned. She wasn't happy with the person her grandson had become. She swore she was going to put his wickedness to an end. She couldn't let him do this anymore.

"Yes, Sasori-danna." Deidara said before he pulled out some clay and transformed it into one of his birds. He had the bird pick up Gaara's body and practically swallow him.

Naruto, of course, didn't like that all. He jabbed a finger in Deidara's direction, looking even more feral as he had before. His eyes were now glowing hot red. "Get your dirty hands off of him! I will not let you take Gaara away from us again!" He bellowed in rage.

But Deidara ignored him, of course. He just jumped up on the bird and smirked at the ninja before him. "Technically, I don't have Gaara by my hands. But if you can catch me, I'll think about giving his rotting corpse to you." He told him before wriggling his fingers at him as the bird quickly flew right over their heads out of the cavern.

And of course, Naruto, and Kakashi took off after him. All the while, Sakura and Chiyo remained behind to face Sasori.

It was a great surprise to him when he opened his eyes in the dark world of his mind and found himself still there. He had been expecting to open his eyes and see the fiery gates of Hell, ready to consume him for some of the wicked things he had done in his life. But no. Gaara had opened his eyes and found him sitting right on a patch of black sand, surrounded by the darkness. He was still in his dark world of black desert.

'…what is this?' The young red head thought to himself as he slowly looked around, seeing nothing but black. "Am…..am I still alive? Dead? Have I gone to Hell?" He whispered.

Slowly, he looked around himself and tried to figure out what was going on. This must have been Hell. He was all alone. He was alone in the darkness, with nothing to look at. The despair of loneliness was heavy all around him. He felt it weighing down on him. Maybe this would be his punishment for hurting people in his life. It just hurt a little more. Even his chest started to ache. He knew this had to be Hell. To spend an eternity in the darkness, alone and feeling like a little kid. In his mind's eyes, he saw himself as a little kid, curled up into a ball and had his arms wrapped around his knees.

"Gaara!"

The sudden voice made Gaara's eyes snap open and his head shot up as he looked around the darkness. He wasn't surprised to see nothing all around him. There was only the blackness of his world. So what had he heard?

"Gaara! Don't you dare leave us!"

Again, Gaara was surprised that he heard the voice. He couldn't believe it. He was dead, and yet he could still hear Naruto's voice surrounding him. What was going on? He didn't understand at all. "Naruto?" He murmured.

"Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" came the echo of Naruto's voice, causing Gaara to frown in confusion.

Surprisingly, a faint image began to appear before Gaara's seemingly lifeless eyes. He could only frown in confusion as he watched the image expand before him like a window. He saw himself in that window, an eight year old vision of himself. He was with a child like Naruto. This was something that he remembered. It was the very first time that he even talked to Naruto. It was a memory.

"What's your name?" Naruto had asked.

The image changed just a little but it was still the same memory. Only of what Naruto had been saying to him.

"Nice to meet you, Gaara! That's a real cool name!" Naruto told him.

The memory changed, yet it was still an early memory. It was the memory of the day a Leaf Ninja had tried to kill a six year old Gaara when Jiraiya intercepted him. And now the young boy was crying before the giant of a Ninja, who looked down at him sadly.

"Why does everyone hate me, Jiraiya?!" The six year old Gaara cried, rubbing his dark ringed eyes with his small fists. "Why does everyone…..wh-why does everyone hate and fear me?! What did I ever do?! I don't understand!"

Jiraiya had sighed and touched the young boy's cheeks, wiping the tears away from his face. "They just don't understand you, Gaara. Everyone fears something that they don't understand. And they're too pig-headed to even try to understand you." He had said softly. "Not like I understand you. Just relax, buddy boy. Someday, you'll show them. You'll show them that you aren't just something to fear but something to love."

The memory changed again, turning into the day that Gaara had graduated from the Ninja Academy and Naruto hadn't. He had gone after his best friend and tried to give him his headband. Naruto had looked so surprised when he did. "But…that's yours, Gaara."

Gaara shook his head. "Not anymore. I'm giving it to you, Naruto. You wanted one, didn't you?"

"But…I didn't graduate."

Gaara had only shook his head as he sighed with a scowl at his friend. "Naruto, you are a Shinobi, no matter what anyone says. The ninja headband is only a symbol. It does not make you the ninja. You make yourself the ninja." And Naruto had smiled faintly at him, grateful for his words.

Again, the memory changed.

This time it was when Gaara, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had first met Kakashi and they went through the survival training with him. He remembered how hard it had been. But in the end, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura worked together to save him, Gaara, from drowning.

But then it changed to during the Land of the Waves mission. Gaara was walking towards Naruto and Haku, whom Naruto had thought was a girl at the time. Haku had been playing along though. "Do you…have someone who is important to you?" And when Naruto looked confused, Haku smiled faintly at him, tilting his head to the side. "When a person has something important to protect, that's when they can truly become strong." He had told Naruto.

It was then Naruto got a bright look on his face as he had thought of the answer. He just nodded vigorously at Haku. "Yeah! I understand that very well! Actually I do have someone that is really important to me. We've been friends for a long time. He's been my only friend and I was his. I want to be strong to stand by his side when he needs my help!"

The memory changed again, this time it was the one that hurt a lot. It was when Gaara had killed Haku. He had lost control over Shukaku and had killed him. To make things worst, Shukaku had taunted him. But then the memory slightly changed when Zabuza had used the last bit of his strength to kill Gatou and Gaara was carrying him over to Haku, so that he could be with him. The young red head couldn't look at the dying ninja his sand was carrying. "…Zabuza…I'm…I didn't mean to kill…" Gaara had tried to say.

"…ah…shut up, kid." Zabuza had groaned painfully. "…I know what happened….I sa-saw what was going on between you and my water clone…I know….what…you are…" And when Gaara looked away, the large Mist ninja reached out and placed his hand onto his shoulder to make him look back. "…you…are a young…Ninja….not even close to being a mons-monster like…me. Do not….ever let them think…you are otherwise…that demon…is nothing…compared to you…"

Again it changed and this time it was a little personal to Gaara. It was the memory of him and Sakura on the bridge a day or two after the mission from the waves. Sakura had been feeling bad because she believed that she had been weak and pathetic. But Gaara had tried to cheer her up. Especially after he had called himself the Master of Sand.

Sakura only giggled and nodded. "You're right. You are the Prince of Sand." She had told him before leaving him.

The memory faded to a more painful one, yet it was one of the best he had. It had been the time he had lost complete control over Shukaku and had tried to kill his friends, how he had tried to crush them and rip them to shreds for being so close to him. Gaara felt horrible for having to remember this one. He had caused his friends so much pain. But they had tried to stand by him and help him defeat his inner demon. He remembered how he had beaten Naruto badly, yet the blonde kept getting up to face him. No matter how bad he had battered him. He had fought with Shukaku, demanding that he stopped hurting Naruto, but the sand demon had refused.

"Gaa-Gaara…You're my friend….." Naruto gasped as he laid next to him. "…..That will never….never change. I don't care if…..if you have Shukaku….I have Kyuubi. We….we can be monsters together…as friends. As…..as best friends….I will not…..let my best…. Friend suffer alone….We've come too far as friends…..to let our friendship die now…"

Another memory faded into view before Gaara, this one was of him and Sakura together in the park, right after he became Kazekage. Sakura had said some sweet words to him that helped him become stronger. And even better, they had confessed their feelings for one another.

"Gaara!" Temari's voice rang out all around him.

"Gaara!" Kankuro shouted in pain.

"Don't die, Gaara! Don't you dare die on us!" came Baki's voice from the darkness.

"Gaara!"

"Gaara!"

"Gaara!"

"Gaara!"

So many voices began to echo in Gaara's head, causing him to frown in the darkness. It was so maddening. He swore he was going to start going insane from hearing his name being called out so many times. He couldn't help but cover his ears and close his eyes. He could still hear them.

"I will protect my friends! That's my ninja way!" Naruto's voice echoed again, all around him.

Gaara's eyes snapped open as something hit him. He felt as if something was wrong there. Those words, those memories he was seeing and hearing…..they were not words of pain and suffering and torture. They were words that encouraged him to live on. They had helped him become strong and care more about everyone. If he was truly dead, why would he hear them or see them? To taunt him.

Another image appeared before him.

It was the memory of him meeting Itachi Uchiha after so many years. One that didn't happen too long ago. He had been chained to the wall, glaring hatefully at Itachi. The Uchiha had slammed his head against the wall and gave him a look of warning as he turned on his Sharingan eyes, doing something. What had he done? He had performed some kind of hand sign, but what was he doing? What had he done? It made Gaara frown as he recalled the memory. He had done some of Jutsu. But what was it?

"When you survive this whole ordeal with the Akatsuki, deliver this message to the Kyuubi. And you might as well as do it yourself. Save Sasuke." Itachi had said before he knocked him out.

That memory bewildered Gaara as he remembered it. He remembered that Itachi had said "When." It was as if he believed that Gaara would have survived the Extraction. But how? As far as he knew it, the Extraction of Shukaku was suppose to kill him. He wouldn't survive it. So why had Itachi said that?

'Oh, my head. What in the hell was that?' Came a very familiar growl from behind him.

Gaara's eyes widened when he heard Shukaku's voice, causing him to whirl around and look wide eyed up at the sand demon who had just faded into view right above him. He couldn't believe it. Shukaku was back! But how?! It confused Gaara to no limit at all. He couldn't help but stare with shock up at his inner demon. "Shu-Shukaku?!" He couldn't stop himself from saying.

And when Shukaku heard his voice, he looked down and his eyes, too, snapped wide open. He looked bewildered to see Gaara as much as he did him. 'Brat?! What are you doing here?! Why…?!'

It was then they both heard a heartbeat. Both of them looked up into the darkness, which slowly began to fade back into a night's sky and the dark desert reappeared all around them, startling both young man and sand demon. They couldn't believe what they were seeing or hearing. They could hear a heartbeat. And not just any heartbeat. It was Gaara's heartbeat! That could only mean one thing! Gaara was still alive!

"What is this?! How…..?!" Gaara found himself ask in bewilderment.

There a very long silence as the two pondered the question. They didn't have the answer right away. How was Gaara still alive and with Shukaku still in his head?! It didn't make any sense. But then, the last memory came back. The one of Itachi Uchiha. And it hit the pair of them like a ton of bricks.

'You have got to be shitting me!' Shukaku roared in alarm. 'Itachi Uchiha did this?! Why that sneaky little…..! He performed a temporarily death Jutsu on us! He made us LOOK dead!'

Gaara just frowned as he listened to the sand demon rant a little. He still didn't really understand it. He had never heard of a temporarily death Jutsu before. So Itachi had performed a Jutsu that made him look dead. By why? "Why? Why had he done this? Why…..why save my life? No….why did he spare me? How did he do it?" He found himself asking out loud.

Shukaku shook his head as he sat on his hind legs and wrapped his tail around himself. He didn't look too certain but he knew a little of how to answer that question. 'Why, I don't know. But the Jutsu he used is a Forbidden one, and forbidden for a reason. It's very dangerous. It hasn't been used for a long time now. It's called the Death Illusion Jutsu. It's a physical illusion, in a way. I don't really know how to put it in any other way. He used a seal to keep me in you while the Akatsuki were trying to extract me. It bound me to your very soul, keeping me trapped inside your body.' He shook his head again, growling a little. 'He sealed me twice to make sure I stayed in you. Then he performed the Death Illusion. The Death Illusion is a Jutsu that makes one look as if they had been killed. It's very effective. But like I said, it's dangerous.' He explained.

Gaara frowned at the sound of that but slowly shook his head. "How is it dangerous?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

The Sand demon shook his head, looking very grave. 'If done wrong, it really can kill you. So I guess we have to be thankful for the Uchiha for being a genius, eh?' He shook his head. 'Either way, he was making his own comrades think they got a hold of me.'

"Still…..I don't understand why he did it." Gaara remarked.

'Kid, remember what Itachi Uchiha said before he knocked you out? He said save Sasuke. He wants you to help the Kyuubi brat save his little brother! So that means, he's not one hundred percent faithful to his own team!'

Gaara's eyes lit up at the revelation. He should have guessed it for himself. But with the dull pain in his head he felt now, he couldn't think straight. Either way, he had just realized that Itachi was not loyal to the Akatsuki. He might have been with them but it seemed that he had his own plans. He was using the Akatsuki for something. But what?

Suddenly, there was a sound of an explosion and the entire desert within Gaara's mind began to rock as if there was an earthquake happening. It felt as if he was under attack. Gaara looked around with a frown, sensing danger close by. He could feel it. Both, the young Kazekage and Shukaku could sense a fight happening. They could hear explosions and feel the ground under them shaking and rocking violently. Gaara knew, with Shukaku, that it was time to rejoin the world outside of his subconscious. So with his face set with determination, Gaara looked up at Shukaku as he stood up. "Shukaku, are you ready?"

'Oh, yeah, I'm ready.' Shukaku growled, his yellow and black eyes narrowing dangerously. 'I'm ready to KILL those Akatsuki bastards! Let's go, kid!'

Gaara nodded as he put his hands together in a sign, one that Ibiki Morino had taught him during their mind reading sessions. It was time to fight once again. And this time, he was going to win this fight.

However, when Gaara managed to push himself forward to waking up, he felt a very dull pain in his bones and he felt as if he was in something hot and stuffy. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was in some kind of very small, cramped up chamber. It felt more like clay. So he had a very good idea of where he was at. Still, his body felt stiff and it hurt to try and move. "Urgh….." He groaned a little as he tried to lift a hand but had to give up.

'It's the rigor mortis.' Shukaku suddenly spoke up. 'Technically, your body shuts down to play the part of being a dead guy. Being dead activated the rigor mortis, which causes your body to grow stiff and still.'

Gaara winced as he tried to move again, but stopped when he heard a loud crack and felt his shoulder pop. His back and neck hurt the worst. He cursed Itachi's name for this. He knew that the man had saved his life, but it caused him a lot of pain. 'Shukaku, can you do something about this?' He thought the demon.

'Yeah. But it won't be pleasant for you later. I can suppress the pain for now. But later, you'll be feeling it.' The sand demon warned him before sending energy through his body.

Gaara's body tingled uncomfortably and it made him want to scratch every where. But at least the pain started to die down. He could hardly feel any more aches and pains. It helped a lot. His eyes opening with a very cold look in them, he looked around the clay chamber. "Now, let's get out of this annoying clay bird. I think it's time to pay this ninja back for nearly blowing up my village." He whispered to Shukaku, who only growled in agreement. He then formed hand sign escape the bird.

Outside, Naruto had lost it. He had totally lost any self control he had and was lashing out at Deidara viciously as he and Kakashi tried everything to get Gaara's body back. Kakashi had even activated his new Jutsu, the Time-Space Dimension Mangekyo Sharingan, taking apart of Deidara's arm and severing it from his body. But it hadn't completely worked. The Mangekyo seemed to have a back lash against Kakashi, making his Sharingan eye hurt really bad. He was starting to be rendered weak from using it. Eventually, Team Gai and Jiraiya had finally caught up with them, watching the unbelievable fight.

Naruto, on the other hand, was suffering something a little different. He was fighting him head on, in a very strange state. His usual blue eyes were blood red and he seemed to be taking on some kind of feral look. The strange three markings upon each cheek had turned black and a demonic red aura surrounded him like fire. He didn't even seem to be the same as he usually was. He was pummeling Deidara while his clones had captured the clay bird's head, where Gaara's body had been kept. The clones were trying hard to tear the bird's head open to get to his best friend.

But...when they managed to tear it open, they all froze with horror when they saw what was inside.

"What?!" They all exclaimed before looking over at the real Naruto, who stiffened when he saw what was inside the bird with the connection with his clones. He had a look of disbelief and shock on his face as he spun around, looking at them. They all stared with disbelief before they all whirled around and glared at the smirking Deidara. "What did you do to Gaara, you bastard?! Where is he?!"

It was Deidara, Kakashi, Jiraiya and Team Gai's turn to freeze with alarm. They all stiffened and looked wide eyed at Naruto and the clay bird.

Deidara frowned as if he didn't believe what Naruto had just said. His brow furrowed with frustration and disbelief. He looked at the energetic blonde as if he was a huge idiot. "I knew you were stupid, but I didn't know you were blind! The rotting meat sack is inside my clay bird! He's right there!" He exclaimed, pointing at the head. But then he froze with his own horror when the Naruto Clones ripped it open to reveal nothing.

"No, he's not! Where did you stash Gaara, you bastard?!" Naruto demanded.

Deidara did not answer but stared in horror at his clay bird. He couldn't believe his eyes. The body was gone. The dead demon carrier was gone! But how?! Where did it go?! He knew he hadn't dropped it! He didn't drop anything that wasn't a bomb! Gritting his teeth, he raced right over to the clay head and shoved the Naruto Clones away while frantically searching inside his creation. No one moved as they watched him. They were too stunned to. "Where is it?! Where is that body?! NO!" He roared slamming his one fist on the clay. "Dammit! He's going to kill me if I don't find it! He wanted to use the body!" he whirled around and glared at Naruto and Kakashi. "Where did you put it?! Which one of you took it?! How did you take it without me knowing?! WHO HAS THE BODY?!"

Everyone stared with shock and alarm but then Kakashi shook his head, his eyes narrowing. "How could we have taken Gaara's body from you? We've been trying to get it from you. If we had it, we wouldn't be fighting you for him and pretending not to be?" He said sharply.

"ARGH!" Deidara screamed in rage and frustration as he gripped his long blonde hair in his hands. But he stopped when more Leaf Ninja, as well as several Sand Ninja joined them. He was really starting to hate all of this….

WHAM!

A foot suddenly lashed out and kicked the blonde clay bomber right in the face, sending him flying backwards away from the clay bird. He went crashing and rolling across the rocky terrain, crying out in pain before he managed to flip himself to his feet. His sky blue eyes grew wide as he looked at who just kicked him.

"I've been wanting to do that for a very long time." Baki said, smirking as he stood in a crouch between Deidara and the clay head. (ooc: YES! GO, BAKI! lol)

Several Sand Ninja, along with the Leaf Ninja laughed and cheered him on for kicking Deidara in the face. Even Naruto seemed to snap out of his berserker rage a little for it. He had to admit it, but the old Sand Ninja had style when it came to kicking someone in the face.

Deidara did not share all of their enthusiasm. He was starting to find himself quickly out numbered and even if he was an S class ninja and could defeat a great number of ninja, he was in no state of doing so. His teeth clenched tightly as he moved closer to the body of his clay bird. "If I can't take that meat sack back to the leader, I'll make sure you can't either!" He roared before freezing when he saw Sakura and Chiyo. "Wait a second…..! Weren't you fighting Sasori-danna?!"

Sakura smirked as she looked him right in the eye, all the while helping Chiyo stand up right because of how exhausted she looked. They both looked like they had done some serious fighting. "Sasori is dead. He couldn't kill us." She told him.

This only seemed to enrage Deidara even more. His head thrown back, he let out a roar of rage before turning sharply and taking a huge chunk of clay into his mouth, chewing and swallowing. More to everyone's shock, he began to blow up like a huge balloon. He was growing bigger and more deformed. Everyone stepped back in alarm as they watched with wide eyes. Neji, however, quickly spun around with a look of alarm on his face. "Run! Get away! He's going to explode and it's going to be huge!" He yelled.

Immediately everyone turned and bolted as fast as they could away from Deidara. They hadn't liked the sound of that but they knew that they needed to get away immediately.

Sakura, however, stopped running when she realized that Gaara was no where to be seen. She whirled around and looked at the clay bird's head before rushing over to it. "Where's Gaara?! We can't leave him!" She cried out.

"Sakura! No!" Naruto yelled as he whirled around with Kakashi and a few others. "Sakura! He's not there!"

But as it was, everyone knew that they weren't going to get away in time. The explosion was going to be way too big. It was going to destroy everything within the mile radius, along with them. They were going to be blown up with everything. Kakashi, however, tried hard to activate his Mangekyo Sharingan, hoping that he could suck up the explosion, even if it was causing him a lot of pain. But once Deidara exploded, he realized that it was going to be too big, and Sakura was going to get vaporized.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently under their feet, shifting quickly as ruptures began to form as something began to push itself upward. The sudden earthquake only caused most to fall or crash to the ground or into trees. As it was, Deidara finally exploded, sending fire and debris flying everywhere. The flames shot out, ready to engulf everyone. All of the Leaf and Sand Ninja threw their arms up to protect their selves, even if it was a lost cause. Naruto watched in horror as Sakura was engulfed in the flames though. He let out an inhuman scream as he started to hurry forward to get to her, knowing that it would do nothing.

Sakura screamed as she threw her arms over her head and bent forward, even if that wasn't going to do any good. She knew she was going to die. She knew that she was not going to survive this.

But, then something shot up out of the ground all around her, and around everyone else. Before she knew it, she felt something wrapping around her, almost as if it was protecting her from the explosion. They couldn't see it because of all of the flames and debris. Kakashi, however, did. His eyes widened when he looked through the flames to see something massive starting to wrap around them, blocking the explosion away from them and wrapping around the area where Deidara was exploding. He was alarmed to see sand forming a huge sphere around the flames and protecting everyone.

A moment later, it quieted down, with exception of sand starting to rain down on them, coating them with thick layers. Everyone coughed as they accidently inhaled some of it, but they were more bewildered of what they saw. They couldn't believe it. Sand had actually shot out of the ground and protected them.

With Sakura, it took her a moment to figure out that there were arms wrapped around her, protecting her from the danger. She slowly opened her eyes, only to see red cloth and a gray vest. She also heard someone breathing hard over her, along with feeling the chest she was leaning against rising and falling rapidly. It sounded as if her rescuer had either ran a mile very fast to get to her and her friends or had done some serious heavy lifting. Slowly, she lift her head up to see who had saved her and gasped.

Gaara.

Gaara was glaring weakly at the huge bubble of sand that had surrounded the explosion, as if there was still and enemy there. He looked terrible though. He was sweating badly, causing his red hair to be plastered onto his forehead and dust all over him. He looked very weak, though.

"Ga-Gaara!" Sakura cried out in surprise.

A moment later, there was a blast of wind, sending the cloud of smoke and sand flying away from the area. It had been Temari using her fan to cause a little bit of breeze to find out what was going on. And the sight of Gaara standing over Sakura, protectively, made everyone freeze with surprise. They couldn't believe it. He was alive! Naruto even started to calm down, his eyes returning to normal and his face brightened. "Gaara!" he cried out cheerfully.

Gaara heaved a little as he looked around at everyone, stopping on Naruto. He was still breathing too hard, that it was hurting his chest a little. He felt light headed from his exhaustion. "Is…..every…..one….alright?" He asked almost too quietly.

Slowly, one by one, everyone nodded, still surprised that they were okay. They were even more surprised to see Gaara still alive. Kakashi straightened, somewhat weakened from trying to use the Mangekyo. "Gaara, how are you still alive? I could have sworn that you were dead a minute ago." He said, frowning.

The young Kazekage chose not to answer though. He just turned his sea-foam colored eyes and looked down at Sakura, frowning. He looked so worn out though as he stared down at her. "Sak-Sakura….are…you hurt?" He asked wearily.

"No. I'm okay. Gaara…you're alive. I can't believe you're okay." She said smiling up at him.

Gaara slowly shook his head as he helped her standing up. He looked as if he was having a hard time standing up on his own though. He even staggered a step as he let Sakura steady herself. "No….." he breathed. "I'm…..not….." And then he fell to the ground with a loud thump.

"Gaara!" Sakura and Naruto both cried out in alarm. Actually, Sakura screamed it. She quickly dropped down beside Gaara, looking stunned. She carefully lift his head up onto her lap, looking worried. She didn't even glance at Naruto when he quickly joined her. She just looked at Gaara through concerned eyes. "Gaara! What's wrong?! What happened to you?!"

Chiyo was soon beside her, now quickly running a check over him. She glanced at Gaara's face, noting how it was retorted in a look of pain. His eyes were tightly shut and he was sweating a little more. He was fighting himself from not crying out in pain. His body was burning, yet he felt as if he was freezing. He didn't even feel as the old woman placed her hands onto his chest, now concentrating on his vital signs. But a second later, her eyes snapped wide open. "Oh, no. He's used way too much Chakra, as well as he's missing a portion of his spirit energy. From what I can see, his body is going through a withdrawal. His bones are stiff from the rigor mortis." She announced.

Everyone, but Naruto froze with alarm as they had heard that. He had no clue what that was. But he knew it had to be bad just by seeing the looks on everyone's faces. They all looked horrified. "What?! What is that?!" He gasped.

"It means, Naruto, that Gaara WAS dead! He had died, yet he came back to life! How did that happen?!" Tenten said, still too alarmed.

Gaara hissed in pain as he felt a nasty wave roll over him. He couldn't stop the cry of pain this time. But shivering, he forced an eye open and looked up at Chiyo. "A….It was….a Death Illusion Jutsu….." He managed to groan before writhing a little from pain. Mostly the Jounin looked horrified to hear that. The young Ninja didn't understand at all. They had never heard of that Jutsu before. "Death Illusion Jutsu?" Tenten asked, frowning. "What is that?"

There was a pause before Kakashi looked at them with a frown. He could only shake his head as he looked at them gravely. "Naruto, Sakura, do you remember what Haku did to Zabuza with his senbon needles? How he saved him from us? It's the same thing. Only a more physical Genjutsu." He looked back at Gaara, very concerned. "The Death Illusion is very dangerous to perform on someone. If it's done wrong, it can kill the victim. The purpose of the Jutsu is to make one look dead to others. And eventually, the person falls into a state of death. The person under the Jutsu grows deathly pale and they even stop breathing. Only a bubble of breath remains inside their lungs. The body shuts down, letting the heart beat very slowly, to keep it going. Then after a certain point of time, the body jump starts again. But by that time, the rigor mortis settles in. And when that does, you need Chakra to heal yourself." He explained, looking very worried. "Unfortunately, Gaara spent his remaining Chakra he had to save us from the explosion. If he doesn't find that shed of Chakra soon, he could die."

All of the young ninja looked horrified to hear that. They had gotten the idea that Gaara might die. And by the looks of it, he was going to. He looked horrible. And it didn't help when he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth before his breathing started to slow down. That didn't look good at all.

"Gaara!" Both Temari and Kankuro yelled at the same time.

"Don't die, Gaara! Don't you dare die on us!" Baki said sharply as he moved closer, looking horrified.

"Gaara!" All of Team Gai shouted.

Even Naruto and Sakura shouted his name, clutching onto his arms as if he was starting to fade away and they tried to anchor him. "Gaara!" They cried.

Jiraiya moved closer to him, looking wide eyed at him, tears actually in his eyes as he grabbed a hold of his shoulder. "Gaara! Don't you dare leave us!" He demanded.

But the darkness was creeping over his vision. He could barely see anything because his eyes were open by slits and he could barely hear the others shouting at him. He knew they were still yelling for him but he couldn't hear them anymore as he faded into the darkness.

'Looks like we've finally had it. I can't even spare you some more Chakra to this body.' Shukaku told him weakly.

Gaara inwardly sighed as he closed his eyes, seeing both Naruto and Sakura last as he slowly drained away. He hadn't wanted to die, but it couldn't be helped now. At least of what he was aware of. 'It's….all right…..Shu-Shukaku...As long…..as long as they are safe…..I don't mind.' He thought wearily to the sand demon. Then he closed his eyes. "And I had wanted to tell Sakura I loved her before I went." He whispered. And then the blackness of death seemed to have swallowed him up.

But…then something suddenly grabbed him, or that was what it felt like.

Gaara opened his eyes, finding himself once again in his mind world and was surprised to see that there was a new addition to it. There was an Oasis sitting before him. It was THE oasis from the Suna Desert. There were rolling hills of sand dunes along with green trees standing all around him. He was surprised to see all of them.

But not as surprised as he was when he turned around to see what was holding onto him, only to see a fierce looking Naruto clutching onto him.

Naruto was holding painfully tight to his arm, his teeth clamped down and looking as if he even loosened his grip a little, Gaara would fade away. He looked as if he was trying to pull him or trying to stop him from falling further into the darkness.

"Don't you dare, Gaara! Don't you dare die on me and Sakura when we just got you back! We lost you once, we are not going to lose you again! I mean it!" The blonde yelled at him.

Gaara stared at him with surprise. He couldn't believe that he was seeing Naruto there in his mind world. Somehow, Naruto had come into his mind just like Ibiki had. He didn't understand it at all. He didn't know how it was possible for Naruto to be grabbing onto him like this. He could actually feel his grip on his arm. "Naruto? How…..how are you here? Why are you….." He was saying.

Naruto shook his head as he clutched onto Gaara, looking as if he was pulling him. His eyes had been flickering from blue to red, yet back again. The markings on his face were even starting to flicker a little. It was then, Gaara realized, that there was a giant red fox with nine tails standing right behind him, looking almost evil. It was grinning down at him, looking as if it wanted to eat him. The young Kazekage realized that this must have been the Kyuubi. He was actually seeing the nine tailed fox within Naruto.

"Granny Chiyo is using her Chakra to save you, Gaara! And she's using mine too because she's run low!" Naruto started to explain, through gritted teeth. "We are not going to let you go! Not this time!"

"Hmph. So, Kyuubi, you're here. I can see that you're breaking out of your seal now." Came Shukaku's growl.

Both Gaara and Naruto blinked in surprise when they heard the sand demon before looking up to see not only the nine tailed fox but the one tailed sand demon as well. Shukaku was standing over Gaara, growling at the fox, which growled right back. Naruto looked surprised to see the fox as well as Shukaku and Gaara was surprised that he even saw Shukaku. But it was obvious that the two bijuu didn't like each other. They looked as if they were about to fight.

"Shukaku, that is the nine tail?" Gaara asked bewildered. "How is he here too, with Naruto?"

The sand demon continued to glare at Kyuubi but then tore his yellow and black eyes from him and looking down at his young host. He just shook his head as he let his tail twitch a little. "When the Chakra of one Tailed Bijuu touches another's, they connect not only their Chakra, but their minds too. It's like what that human, Ibiki Morino did. But in our own way." He explained to the two astonished young men. The sand demon then looked back at Kyuubi. "Problem is, this is Kyuubi's Chakra who's touching mine. He's a creature of destruction and death. Even he can destroy us if he tries. I am in no condition to defend us."

"So, Shukaku." Kyuubi growled, wickedly. "I see you've gotten rather soft for your host. How pathetic."

Shukaku growled at the mention of that. He looked as if he was offended by the fox's words. But then after a moment's consideration, his flattened ears lift up and lift his tail, now wrapping it around Gaara. He drew the young Kazekage close, bringing Naruto with him because the blonde refused to let go of his best friend. "Yeah? So what? He's my host. I'll grow soft for him if I want! If he dies, so do I." He then shook his head at the Nine Tail. "You should take better care of yours, Kyuubi. He might be annoying but he's all you've got. And trying to gain control over his body all of the time isn't helping your case. Because sooner or later, he'll do the exact same thing as Gaara did to me. He'll find the strength to beat you at your own game and tame you." He warned the other demon.

"I will not break as easy as you did, you foolish racoon!" The Nine Tailed fox snarled at him, all nine tails now waving in the air. "The boy will never control me."

Shukaku just chuckled as if he found what the fox had said amusing. He just shook his large head as he looked into the Kyuubi's fierce red eyes. "Keep telling yourself that, Kyuubi. But when the day comes when you end up getting beaten badly by Naruto Uzumaki, I will be there, laughing my tail off at you." He told him. "I said the same thing and yet, my host won me over. I'm more blood thirsty than you are. I hunger for blood while you hunger for devastation. But our hosts have too much heart for those. Do yourself a favor and just commit yourself to the boy. It'll save you the later embarrassment. And it'll keep you both alive." He growled with amusement then turned his eyes onto a stunned Naruto. "Hey, fox brat. Guess we owe you once again. Thanks for the Chakra boost. I think I can take over from here."

Gaara realized what he meant. He was starting to feel warmth traveling through his body, feeling the energy now coursing through him. He no longer felt cold. He could feel the life returning to him. Strength was returning. Slowly, his eyes flickered over to Naruto and his face softened. "Naruto, once again, you've saved me." He said quietly.

Naruto blinked at him for a second before his own face softened and he shook his head. He even loosened his grip on Gaara's arm, but still held onto him. He was still afraid that if he let him go, he would fade away. "You're my best friend, Gaara. I won't let you be alone. I will protect my friends! That's my ninja way!" He said grinning at him. For a moment Gaara was surprised. He remembered hearing those exact words before he had supposing came back to life. Now that he thought about it, with everyone calling out to him, he had heard all of his friends and family's voices. But after a moment of thinking about it, his face softened and he held out his hand to his friend, who grinned and took it. "Let's go home, Gaara." Naruto added.

And then white light surrounded them both, nearly blinding them.

Gaara slowly opened his eyes, before wincing as light flooded into his vision, causing him to close his eyes again. He couldn't really find the strength to lift his hand to shield his eyes but a second later, he didn't need to. A shadow fell over his face, allowing him to reopen his eyes only to see Naruto grinned down at him. He was holding him up a little into a sitting position.

And to add onto Gaara's surprise, they were no longer in the forest, but a meadow.

But what surprised him the most was how he was completely surrounded by a great number of Ninja, both Leaf and Sand. They were all there, smiling and looking happy to see him alive. Most of them were Sand Ninja, and all of them were jumping up and down and cheering in happiness. Not too far, Rock Lee was bouncing up and down cheerfully while Neji and Tenten stood next to…...a crying Gai. Gai was actually crying with happiness that he was okay. Next to him, Kakashi was giving his "Eternal Rival" a dry stare for crying. Jiraiya was standing over Gaara though, beaming down at him with his arms folded over his powerful chest. He was looking a little worried but happy at the same time.

"Wh-what?" Gaara felt himself ask.

Naruto beamed at him, looking too cheerful. "Everyone came to save you, Gaara! All of the Sand Ninja and even some of the Leaf Ninja! The Sand Elders came too!" He said brightly.

Temari moved closer, now wrinkling her nose at her little brother before giving him a scolding look. She even jabbed a finger in his direction, looking like a scowling mother. "You gave us quite the scare, Gaara! Don't you ever do that to me again! Why couldn't you have just waited till I got back with reinforcements from the Leaf Village?!" She demanded. Everyone laughed while Gaara rolled his eyes and tried to push himself to his feet, only to feel his bones creak with inside of him and a wave of stiff pain rolled over him. He groaned as he nearly fell forward, onto his face.

But before he could hit the ground, both Naruto and Jiraiya caught him. "Careful, Gaara!" The white haired Legend told him.

Temari nodded as she now looked worried and bent down next to him. She looked afraid for her little brother. "You were dead a moment ago, Gaara. You've only just barely came back to us. The rigor mortis has yet to wear off." She told him.

Gaara looked at her with surprise. "I was dead? But how did I…..?" He asked with confusion.

There were quite a few sad faces now surrounding him as a few heads tilted off to the side. They appeared to be looking elsewhere and when Gaara turned his own head, he saw them looking at a very sad Sakura as she held up the Elder, Chiyo, who appeared to be sleeping. But after careful observing, the young Kazekage realized that was not the case. Chiyo was not breathing. She was dead.

Naruto hadn't seemed to realize this though. He just grinned at Gaara before pointing at the Elderly woman, looking very proud of her. "Granny Chiyo healed you! She saved your life, so remember to thank her when she wakes up!"

"Naruto." Sakura said quietly.

"Don't worry about her too much! She's just tired from bringing you back to life and all. Granny Chiyo will be fine after her nap! Then she'll be back to her old ways! She'll be so cranky and always making jokes." Naruto told Gaara cheerfully.

"Naruto!" Sakura said sharply, getting his attention. "Granny Chiyo isn't sleeping."

Naruto frowned when he heard that, looking very confused and surprised at the same time. But after a moment, Jiraiya sighed as he let Gaara lean against him, looking sadly at the old woman who was not moving. "Chiyo used a very dangerous and difficult Jutsu to bring Gaara back to life, Naruto. It took up all of her Chakra, so that's why she had to ask you to contribute some of yours." He explained quietly. "She not only used up her Chakra, but she used up her life. She's not sleeping. She's dead."

That hit Naruto very hard. He looked at Jiraiya with shock and alarm before his face softened to sadness. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

Gaara, however, frowned as he felt a pang of sadness overwhelm him. He hadn't believed it either but the truth was right in front of him. She was not moving or breathing. She had no Chakra energy. She was dead. And she had died giving his back. It made him feel a little guilty that she had done it. Frowning softly, he grabbed onto Naruto and Jiraiya and tried to pull himself up to his feet, but not without help. The two grabbed a hold of him and helped him stand up. His eyes looked directly at Chiyo, though his eyes flickered over to Sakura, who met his gaze. There was a pause between the two, but then Sakura faintly smiled at him. Another moment passed before Gaara looked at the Elders next. "Chiyo-sama was a fine ninja in her time. Strong and powerful. She was wise beyond her years and she risked everything to save my life. I will never forget what she did for me and you will not either. We will honor and remember Elder Chiyo for all time." He announced.

Slowly, one by one, the Sand Ninja and the Elders repeated Chiyo's name in reverence.

After a long moment of silence, Gaara turned his eyes back onto the Elders, still leaning against Jiraiya and Naruto for support. "Sunagakure is now freed from the Akatsuki. My will for the Sand Village is done. Sasori is dead and will no longer terrorize the village, or cause you all pain and suffering." He then shook his head. "I will remain in the Land of Wind for a short while until you've chosen a new leader, like we discussed." He told them.

There were several murmurs of surprise as everyone they all looked at Gaara. They all looked astounded by his declaration. But then after a brief moment, one of the Elders moved forward and shook his head as he folded his hands together. "With all due respect, Lord Gaara, we will not be choosing a new leader for the Sand Village, when we have a fine leader right in front of us." He smiled when it was Gaara's turn to look surprised. "Lord Kazekage, you are a powerful but kind leader. You have saved the entire village from the Akatsuki. You have freed us. And you have risked your own life to save ours. So that is why, Lord Kazekage," He paused looking around at everyone in the meadow, smiling. "We ask you to remain our Kazekage. As our proud leader, will follow you to the ends of the earth." He told him before sinking down to his knee before Gaara. And slowly, after him, all of the Sand Ninja and the Elders followed suit.

Even the Leaf Ninja did. They all smiled at the elders words and bowed down to Gaara, surprising him. The only ones who weren't bowing were Naruto and Jiraiya, due to that they were holding Gaara up.

Gaara was astonished by the words. He couldn't believe that they still wanted him as their leader. After a moment, his face softened, touched by the Elder's words and the Sand Ninja's actions. He felt his heart going out to these people. But pausing, his eyes flickered over to Sakura, to see what she would have to say about it. Sakura smiled up at him and gave him a nod. She obviously approved this decision. So with a nod, Gaara removed his arms from Jiraiya and Naruto's shoulders and tried to stand up on his own. "I will remain the Fifth Kazekage then."

Immediately cheers broke out all around the meadow as people shot to their feet and pumped fists into the air. They were all very happy that he was agreeing. Even Naruto was jumping up and down with glee. Him and Rock Lee. They both grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

"Go, Gaara! You'll make an awesome Kazekage!" Tenten said brightly, throwing a fist into the air.

"Lord Kazekage! I'll protect you from now on!" shouted a young kunoichi, who was looking at him dreamily, along with several other Sand kunoichi. They looked as if they were in love with him, which caused Gaara to look at them with alarm. And he grew tense as they were starting to raise towards him, looking as if they were going to hug him.

'Become the Kazekage and you get fangirls.' Shukaku laughed within his head.

WHAM!

Suddenly, Temari's large fan slammed into the ground between Gaara and the Kunoichi running towards him and the blonde Sand Jounin was glaring at them fiercely, as if daring them to move any closer to her brother. She even spread the fan out as if blocking them. "Stay back, you vultures! My little brother, the Kazekage is already taken and if you even think about stealing him from her, I will show you no mercy!" She snapped.

Everyone blinked in surprise and alarm while the girls immediately began to protest as they tried to talk their way around Temari. But before they even knew it, Sakura had gently set down Chiyo's body and moved right over to Gaara. The girls had shut up immediately with looks of horror on their faces as the Leaf Kunoichi shot them a dry glare before grabbing Gaara by the front of the shirt and pulling him into a fiery kiss.

"Argh!" All of the fan girls screamed in rage and shock.

And they all squealed louder when Gaara smirked against Sakura's lips before he wrapped arm around her waist and tilted her backwards in a very romantic way, kissing her right back.

This only made most of the people in the meadow start laughing or cheering Gaara and Sakura on, while the girls pouted as they watched. Naruto had been one of the stunned ones but then slowly he smiled and shook his head as he watched his two best friends. Jiraiya, on the other hand, grinned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He obviously had a new story line for an Icha Icha book cooking up inside his perverted head.


	40. Epilogue

The funeral for Elder Chiyo took place only two days after everyone returned to the Hidden Sand Village, all of them. Sand Ninja and Elders and the Leaf Ninja. Everyone returned to the village to recuperate after the terrible fight they had. Gaara had been beyond exhausted and had needed to go to the hospital immediately. However, stubborn as Gaara was, he refused. So he was taken care of back in Baki's home, by Sakura.

The day of the funeral, everyone stood in front of Chiyo's grave, all wearing black and looking at the head stone with sorrowful looks on their faces. They were all in grieving, along with the Elder, Ebizu. Gaara, garbed all in black, had his arm around a crying Sakura. Out of most of them, the pink haired Kunoichi had become the closest with the old woman, even if it was a short period of time. So Gaara couldn't help but try and comfort her, letting her cry on his shoulder. But no one had spoke for a long time. No one knew what they could say.

After a while, Jiraiya looked over at Gaara, frowning thoughtfully. "Gaara, I'm still very curious, as is everyone else. But who saved you from Shukaku's Extraction? Who put you under the Death Illusion?" He asked. All eyes went straight to the young Kazekage for that answer.

But for a very long moment, Gaara didn't say a word. He just frowned thoughtfully as he stared at Chiyo's grave stone. He didn't know what to say really. How could he explain it? He knew that it had been Itachi Uchiha who did it. But how could he tell them that? It didn't make too much sense. All he knew that Itachi had placed him under the Death Illusion but he really didn't know why. Why had Itachi saved him when he was apart of the Organization that was trying to kill him?

"Gaara?" Sakura murmured, breaking into his thoughts.

Gaara blinked before looking down at her. He could see that she was very worried about him, as was everyone else. But after a moment, he decided what to say. "I don't know who did it." He had lied. It was best not to tell them yet. He didn't want to worry them during this tragedy at the moment. It wasn't the right time. "One of the Akatsuki did it, but I don't know who. It seems to me that the Akatsuki has a spy among them. That spy saved my life. For what reason, I don't know." He told everyone.

The news surprised all of them. To think that there was a spy in the Akatsuki, it was a little too alarming. But then Sakura gasped sharply as she looked wide eyed up at Gaara. "It…..It' must have been Sasori then!" She got very strange but surprised looks from the others. But she looked directly at Gaara, who was among the surprised people. "Gaara! It must have been Sasori then that saved you! Before Chiyo and I killed him, he told me that he's been spying on Orochimaru for the Akatsuki, and visa versa! In two months' time, he's going to meet his contact who sells him Orochimaru's secrets and plans. He even told me where we can find Orochimaru! He's a spy!" She told everyone.

No one really knew what to believe though. They were all seriously confused with the news. So, Sasori wasn't exactly faithful to the Akatsuki either? In truth, it didn't make too much sense. But to hear that Sasori was going to go meet a traitor amongst Orochimaru's group, it was the only shot they had to getting Sasuke back.

Gaara, however, just looked off towards the sky, with a very serious look on his face. He didn't understand how there could be two traitors amongst Akatsuki then. He knew that Itachi's reason had to be because of Sasuke. But what had been Sasori's reason? He knew that they would never know now. Not unless they brought Sasori back to life and asked him. But he knew that was no option at all. Sasori was too dangerous, spy or not.

A few days later, Team Kakashi, Team Gai, Jiraiya and the unknown Leaf Ninja were leaving the Sand Village, to return to Konoha. It was time for them to go as it was. They knew that they couldn't linger much longer in the Land of Wind. They had too many duties back home.

Gaara, of course, was staying in the Hidden Sand Village.

In a way, both Naruto and Sakura were a little saddened that he would not be returning to the Leaf Village with them. They had hoped that he could. But then again, they knew that if he was going to be the Kazekage, he had to stay. It was now his job to protect the Sand Village and its people. So he had to stay.

"Thank you." Gaara spoke quietly as he stood at the gates with his siblings. He was seeing his friends and comrades off. He figured it was the only thing he could do since he wasn't going to be returning home with them. "Thank you, everyone, for helping me free my home Village. I could not do it without you."

Naruto just grinned at him, shaking his head. "It's cool, Gaara! We wanted to help you! You're our friend. And this was your home before you came to us. You had to do what you needed to do. And now, everyone's safe because of you." He told him. "But remember, if you ever get bored or need a break, the Leaf Village's gates are always open! And we'll all be waiting for you!"

Gaara smiled softly at his best friend before he extended his hand towards him. The blonde grinned right back before he grabbed the young Kazekage's hand, giving it a light shake of friendship. "Naruto, you are my best friend and practically my brother." The young leader said quietly. "When I get done reorganizing everything here, I will return to the Leaf Village and we will search for Sasuke." His eyes flickered over to Sakura and Kakashi, who both smiled at him. "Together." He added.

Everyone just smiled at him and gave him a nod. Jiraiya moved a little closer, looking proudly down at the young man he had come to love as a son. He remembered the day he had found this boy on the river and how he had spent years watching over him. And now, the boy had become a great leader. "Gaara, I'm very proud of you. You've done great things. I always knew that you would." He said gently before reaching over and planting his large hand on top of Gaara's head, ruffling the wild strands a little, who only smiled softly and then brushed the hand off as if he was silently protesting. He didn't seem to care though. "Like I said before, someday you would show them. You would show them that you aren't something to fear, but something to love."

"And you also told me that if I ever got hurt, it would hurt you more." Gaara spoke softly.

Jiraiya grinned and nodded as he lowered his hand from his young ward's head. "That's right. And I meant it." His face softened to a somewhat saddened look again. "When I saw you lying there, Gaara, hurt and dying, I thought I was going to break into a million pieces. I swear my heart had shattered then. I'm just glad you're all right now." He told him.

And Gaara's lips curled into a soft smile as he looked up at his father figure.

"Yeah. That's what I want to see. I want to see you smile and don't you ever forget that." Jiraiya said, repeating the same words that he had when Gaara was just a very young boy. He even reached over and tapped him on the nose, making Gaara shaking his head with a silent protest but then the large Legendary Ninja reached over and pulled the young Kazekage into a gentle hug. All the while, everyone smiled at the reaction between the two. "You take care of yourself now, Gaara. Don't you ever go get yourself into trouble again. And if you ever need any help, you know where to find me. And even if you can't find me, just call out my name. I'll hear it."

The only thing that Gaara could do was nod. He really couldn't find anything to say. He was a little choked up as it was at this departing. After Jiraiya pulled away from Gaara, the young Kazekage turned his eyes onto Sakura, who smiled softly as she moved closer to him. They both embraced before looking into each other's eyes. "Sakura…..I will come back for you." He whispered to her.

Sakura slowly nodded as she looked into his teal eyes. "I know you will. And I will be waiting for you." She told him softly before she kissed him, which he, of course, returned.

Finally, the Leaf Ninja were on their way back to the Leaf Village. They had turned back a few times to wave at Gaara, his siblings and the Sand Ninja, whom all returned the waves. Gaara just watched as his friends left, a peaceful look on his face. He couldn't believe how lucky he was in his life to have friends like that. He swore on his life that he would protect them, no matter what. He swore he would protect his Leaf brother and the girl he loved. And together, they would bring Sasuke back.

Elsewhere, far from both the Leaf and the Sand Villages, in a very rainy country, and inside a soaked village, there was a loud crash from within a dark building, followed by a string of curses. From outside the building, people of the rainy village could hear that HE was very unhappy. HE was extremely pissed off. And that didn't happen too often. And when it did, it was not good for them at all. It wasn't good for anyone.

Within the building, in a darkened room, a man was throwing things around his dark office and having a terrible fit. He had received news that set off his temper. It was news that he had not been wanting to get at all. It just angered him, greatly. And when Pein was angry, the other Akatsuki members knew better than to be around him. He was too dangerous when he was calm. So if he was angry, it just made things worst. So everyone stayed away from him.

There was only one person who dared to be around the Leader of the Akatsuki, and that was the only female of the group, Konan.

The reason why Pein was angry was because he had found out from their Intelligence Gatherer, that the Shukaku Carrier, Gaara of the Sand was not only alive, but he still carried the One Tailed demon. He really hadn't believed it until he checked the object that they were imprisoning the Tailed Demons inside. Much to his rage, he found that the One Tail was not there. And that was what set him off.

If that wasn't enough, there was another problem that pissed him off to no limit.

"How in the hell did he escape?! How did we miss it?! What happened?!" Pein roared as he went to his desk and threw it against the wall.

His partner, Konan, who was a beautiful woman with dark blue hair just watched him quietly but then sighed as she lowered her head. Normally, she knew how to calm Pein down. She knew what to do to soothe his fiery temper. But right now, she didn't have a clue what to do. She could think of any way. "Pein, maybe something went wrong. Maybe it was Deidara or Hidan goofing around. Or maybe the One Tailed Demon was stronger than we realized." She suggested.

Pein's head whirled around and he glared at him. He knew that those suggestions were no help. And he was sure that she did too. "No! Those two idiots, Deidara and Hidan knows better than to goof around with the Extractions! We've done the Extractions before and never had we ever had a problem! Nothing has ever gone wrong before!" He shook his head angrily. "As it is, we've captured the Fifth Tailed Demon and it's more powerful than the One Tailed. And we did not have any problems with it! Now, someone messed it up on purpose!" He snapped. Konan couldn't help but draw back a little, an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Do not jump to conclusions, Pein, or it will be the undoing of you." Came a cold drawl.

Both Pein and Konan stiffened when they heard that voice. They knew very well who it belonged to. They didn't hear it often but they knew that it was a dangerous someone. So they both turned around to face the owner, bowing down to one knee to the shadow among the shadows. Pein had waved a hand at Konan to leave, but she was already leaving the room. Once the two were alone, Pein turned his cold gaze onto the real Leader of the Akatsuki. "Master," He spoke humbly as he stood up. "Someone has sabotaged the Extraction of the One Tail. The Shukaku has evaded us."

The true Leader stood up from sitting against the dark wall and moved closer, into the light. It was revealed that he wore all black, along with a dark cloak and hood to hide his real identity. But Pein could see the orange and black swirled mask from the opening, along with the fiery red eye peering out of the one hole in the mask.

"I already know, Pein. And I know who's responsible for the sabotage." The Leader held up a hand when Pein's face darkened and he looked ready to start demanding for the name so he could kill the traitor. "When the time comes, I will deal with him myself. But at the moment, we mustn't worry about his reason for doing it. We must concentrate on the task at hand." He told him.

"It was Itachi, wasn't it?" Pein growled, nastily. "I told you bringing him into the Akatsuki was a mistake."

The Leader turned away from him, looking towards the rainy scene outside. He didn't even seem bothered by the accusation at all. "Calm yourself, Pein. Bringing him into this was my own doing and it is my business. We have already put that behind you and me and we had left it at that. Do not bring it up again. In time, I will deliver the punishment upon him. Leave Itachi to me." He finally turned to face the orange haired Akatsuki. "You, on the other hand, will concentrate on the other plans."

"But what of the Shukaku…?" Pein asked quietly.

The Leader shook his masked head, an unamused aura coming off of him. "Do not worry about Shukaku, Pein. We will leave him alone for a while. The failure to capture him was expected. Unlike the other Tailed demons, the Sand demon is the hardest to hold onto. Even if we had extracted him, he would have escaped. He is like the sand he controls. He would slid right through our fingers. He's trickier than you actually realize." He then chuckled darkly. "He is a Tanuki, after all. They are slick little creatures. As I said, leave him and the Kyuubi to me. I will deal with them myself." He told him.

There was a pause as Pein looked away as if thinking hard about something but then he turned his dry stare back onto the Leader. "And what about the other one that escaped? Both Hidan and Kakuzu has reported that they failed to capture the Two Tailed Cat."

"Yes. I heard about that report from Zetsu." The Leader said, not any amused as Pein was. He was actually annoyed that the younger criminal brought up that report. "The Nekomata had jumped into the ocean, faking her own death. Both Hidan and Kakuzu were idiots for thinking she actually committed suicide to evade us. We'll only have to keep our eye out for her. Sooner or later, she'll show up. But never mind her. It'll be Zetsu who will look for her. You just prepare for the next stage. The old man is making his next move as it is. And we must watch him carefully to see what he is planning." He warned Pein. "As it is, I think I'm going to rejoin Zetsu. He's found Deidara, the sly little bastard." Then he vanished into the darkness.

"Yes, Master." Pein spoke to nothing but darkness. He waited for a very long time for the Leader to be truly gone before he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Your orders will be obeyed. For now. But I'm slowly growing tired of playing your foolish war games. Soon, I will be in charge." He growled to nothing. Then he looked out into the rainy horizon of the Rain Country.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued in A Demon's Tale


End file.
